
aass,_F /^ 



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A HISTORY 



Town of Dunstable, 



MA SSA CHUSE TTS, 



EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE lEAR OF OOR LORD \m. 



BY 



The Rev, ELIAS NASON, M. A., 

AUTHOR OF THE "LIFE OF HENRY WILSON, ' THE "LIFE OF CHARLES SUMNER," THE 
"gazetteer of MASSACHUSETTS," AND OTHHR WORKS. 



" It is wise for us to recur to the history of our ancestors. 
Those who do not look upon themselves as a link connecting 
the Past with the Future, do not perform their duty to the 
world." — Daniel Webster. 

" And shall we not proclaim 
That blood of honest fame 
Which no tyranny could tame 
By its chain .? " 

Washingto^n Allston. 



BOSTON: 

ALFRED MUDGE & SON, Printers, 

34 School Street. 

1877. 




PREFACE. 



In writing this history of the town of Dunstable, Mass., I have pre- 
ferred to arrange it in the form of annals, because the intimate connection 
between the civil, ecclesiastical, military, and educational affairs seemed 
to demand that they should be presented in the order of ;time rather than 
apart in groupings by themselves. By recurring to the index, any partic- 
ular name, event, or subject may be readily found. As the space was 
limited, I have endeavored to avoid, as much as possible, theories, com- 
ments, and deductions, and to compress as many facts as appeared to be 
of interest into the number of pages fixed upon for the work. For the 
same reason the genealogies of the families have been omitted, although 
I have introduced, as far as practicable, the dates of births, deaths, and 
marriages, together with other points of importance to those engaged in 
tracing back the lineage of the sons and daughters of Dunstable. 

The materials for this work have been drawn mainly from the town, 
parish, church, and State records, and the places whence citations have 
been made in general indicated. In pursuing my investigations I have 
been most kindly assisted by the Committee of Publication, consisting of 
Messrs. Benjamin French, Josiah Cummings Proctor, John Adams Park- 
hurst, and Dexter Butterfield, by Messrs. John Ward Dean and William 
B. Trask, of Boston, as well as by several others, to all of whom I would 
here tender my very sincere acknowledgments. 

ELI AS NASON. 
North Billerica, Mass., April 21, 1S77. 



i 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



CHAPTER I. 

Early Settlements in Massachusetts. — Surveys of Dunstable. — Origi- 
nal Grants of the Land. — William Brenton's Grant. — Other 
Grants. — Thomas Brattle's Grant. — Division of this Grant. — 
Petition of the Proprietors for Incorporation. —Their Names. — 
Act of Incorporation. — Jonathan Danforth's Survey of the 
Town. — Extent of the Town. — Character of the Proprietors. — 
Name of the Town. — Dunstable, England. 

" In the fathers of New England we behold a body of men who, for the 
liberty of faith alone, resolutely and deliberately exchanged the delights 
home and the comforts of civilized life for toil and danger, for an ungenial 
climate and a rugged soil." Gulian C. Verplanck. 

" We have no title-deed to house or lands ; 
Owners and occupants of earlier date 
From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands, 
And hold in mortmain still their old estates." 

H. W. Longfellow. 

The early English settlements, commenced along the shore 
of Massachusetts Bay, — as that of Plymouth, 1620 ; of Salem, 
1626 ; of Boston, 1630 ; and of Newbury, 1633, — were gradually 
extended into the wilderness, then infested with wild beasts, 
and tribes of wandering savages who justly held themselves to 
be the rightful owners of the soil. 

Sir Henry Rosewell and others obtained, on the 4th of March, 
1629, a royal charter of a grant of land in New England in- 
cluded by a line running three miles south of the Charles River, 
and another line running three miles north of the Merrimack 
River, from the Atlantic to the South Sea, or Pacific Ocean. 
The corporation was entitled " The Governor and Company of 
the Massachusetts Bay in New England," and under its favor- 
able auspices the tide of immigration set in rapidly to this unex- 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[l^M3 



plored and inhospitable region. As many as seventeen ships, 
bringing about 1,500 passengers, arrived during the year 1630. 

In the selection of their farms, it was natural for the settlers 
to follow the course of the larger streams, since along their 
margins extended the rich alluvial lands, which, in some 
instances, the Indians had reduced to tillage, while the waters 
afforded, not only an abundant supply of fish, but also a ready 
means of intercommunication between the settlements 

Haverhill, then called Pentucket, was settled as early as 
1640; the Indian deed — for it was customary to remunerate 
the natives for their lands — bears the date of Nov. 15, 
1642. Groton, Billerica, — then including Tewksbury, — and 
Chelmsford, including Westford, were all incorporated in 
1655. Beyond these towns an unbroken tract of wilderness 
extended as far as Canada. 

Attracted by the fertility of the soil and the heavy growth 
of timber in the valleys of the Merrimack, Nashua, and Souhe- 
gan Rivers, enterprising men from Boston, Salem, Woburn, 
and other towns began, as early as 1660, to obtain grants of 
tracts of land of three hundred acres and upwards, lying along 
these rivers, to erect garrison houses of logs, and to clear away 
the timber, which could be readily floated down the streams 
and shipped for market. 

A survey of the valley of the Merrimack River was made by 
Captains Simon Willard and Edward Johnson in 1652, and the 
colony of Massachusetts Bay then claimed all the land three 
miles north and east of this river, to a large rock in the Win- 
nepesaukee River, and thence due west as far as New York. 
Thecounty of Middlesex, organized May 10, 1643, held jurisdic- 
tion over this vast unsettled region, and within it was embraced 
all that extensive territory which a few years later became the 
town of Dunstable. 

Four years subsequent to the above-mentioned survey, 
William Brenton, who afterwards became governor of Rhode 
Island, fobtained a grant) of a large tract of land lying on both 
sides of tlie Merrimack River, and which ut a later day formed 
almost all of the township of Litchfield. It extended on the 
west side of the Merrimack River, (from a little stream called 
Naticook Brookljust above Thornton's Ferry, down to about 



n. 



16/1] 



EARLY GRANTS OF LAND. 



a mile south of Pennichuck Brook, and was long known as 
" Brenton's Farm." No attempts, however, were made to set- 
tle on this land anterior to 1720. About the year 1660 tracts 
of land of five hundred acres each, on the Souhegan River, 
were granted to Captains William Davis, of Boston, and Isaac 
Johnson, of Roxbury, the latter of whom was killed in the Nar- 
ragansett fight, Dec. 19, 1675. The town of Charlestown 
obtained a grant of one thousand acres, lying at or near Dram 
Cup Hill, now in Milford, N. H., for a school farm, and in 1662 
the town of Billerica secured a grant of five hundred acres for 
the same purpose. It subsequently obtained a much larger 
grant. 

It was the policy of the General Court to extend the settle- 
ments. The value set upon the land was very low, and hence 
extensive tracts of this wild waste were readily secured. Mrs. 
Anna Cole obtained a grant of five hundred acres ; Mr. Phineas 
Pratt and others, a grant of three hundred acres, "for straights 
and hardships endured by them in planting at Plymouth." 
Other grants were successively made, among which was one 
of four hundred acres to Gov. John Endecott, six miles north 
of Pawtucket Falls and one mile west of Beaver Brook ; 
another to Henry Kimball, long known as " Kimball's Farm," 
and now in the towns of Hudson and Pelham, N. H. ; while 
certain tracts on the southerly side of Salmon Brook were 
granted to Samuel Scarlett, Capt. Joseph Wheeler, and to his 
son, Lieut. Joseph Wheeler. Edward Cowell hac a grant' of two 
hundred and fifty acres lying on the north of Massapoag PoiiJ, 
and Capt. Thomas Brattle, a noted citizen of Boston and a 
public benefactor, had a/£rrant_of 1,650 acres/ extending north- ^ 
easterly from Mr. Cowell's land, and embracing what is now y 
the village of Dunstable. It was known for almost a century _ 
as " Brattle's Farm," and the settlement made upon it bore Xho.'Mu 
name of " Brattle End." Capt. I^rattle bought this land July / ^ieJyl/Sil 
14, 1 67 1, of Kanapatune and Patatucke,* Indians, and it is / 

described as being 2,000 acres, " in the wilderness on the west 
side of the Merram^ick, between the river and Mashapopog 
Pond, on the line of Chelmsford." The land was formerly 

* He was of Wamesit, and one of the owners of Uic territory of Groton. He 
was called by the English, Jacob Patatucke. 




g HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1673 

owned by the Indian Cuttah-huno-a-muck, who may be con- 
sidered the original proprietor of what is now the town of 
Dunstable, Mass.* A plan of this famous farm, by Jonathan 
Danforth, dated Sept. 27, 1672, is still preserved, and by it 
many questions as to the original owners of the land in that 
section of the town may be determined. Who the owners of 
the " Brattle Farm " were about thirty-six years subsequent to 
the death of Mr. Brattle may be seen from the following inter- 
esting document : — 

"Dunstable, Oct. 25, 1718. 
" At a meeting of us whose names are underwritten, being the propri- 
etors of ye farme that was Mr. Thomas Brattles, and having divided ye 
greatest part of it amongst us into lots, both ye upland and ye medow, doe 
• all agree that every one of us shall bee allowed all necessary ways across 
our lands, both open and bridle ways, for the improvement of our lands, 
and to ye meeting-house as the major part of the propriety shall order and 
determine, and in case anyone be more damnified than ye xt he shall be 
recompenced for his damage by ye way exing. Witness our hands. 
Thomas Cumings, Nathaniel Cumings, Jacob Kendle, Abraham 
Taylor, John Taylor, James Jewell, Thomas Jewell." f 

In September, 1673, a grant of 1,000 acres was made to the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, of Boston. This 
land extended westerly from the Merrimack River, along the 
right bank of Nashua River, as far as Spectacle Brook, and 
thence northerly about one mile. Upon it stands to-day the 
most densely settled part of the industrial city of Nashua. 

The proprietors of these extensive plantations were for the 
most part leading men in the colony of Massachusetts Bay ; 
and having conferred together, they presented to the General 
Court, in 1673, the following petition, asking to be incorporated 
as a town, in order that, as such, they might be of greater ser- 
vice to the country : — 

* See Brattle Family, p. 3. Major Thomas Brattle, born about 1624, married 
Elizabeth, daughter of William Tyng. He was a merchant of Boston, commanded 
several expeditions against Philip, and died April 5, 16S3, in his sixtieth year. He 
was one of the founders of the Old South Church. His son, Thomas Brattle, H. C, 
1676, was one of the founders of Brattle Street Church, and died May iS, 1713. 

t In addition to their meadow lands, they had severally the following portions 
of the " Brattle Farm": Thomas Cummings, 125 ; Eben'r Taylor, 153 ; Abraham 
Taylor, 158J ; James Jewell, 213 ; John Taylor, 188 ; Thomas Jewell, 138 ; Jacob 
Kendall, 133; Nathaniel Cummings, 108; Gershom Proctor, 151 ; and Samuel 
Harwood, 2U acres. 



i673] 



PETITION OF THE PROPRIETORS. 



Copy of the Petition of the Proprietors of the Lands along the 
Merrimack, Nashua, and Souhegan Rivers, to be incorporated 
AS A Town. 

To the Honored Governor, Deputy Governor, with the Magistrates ana 
Deputies now assembled in the General Court at Boston : — 
The petition of the proprietors that are laid out upon the Merrimac 
River, with others who desire to joyn with them in the settlement of a 
plantation there. 

Humbly Sheweth 

That 7vhereas, there is a considerable tract of countrys land that is 
invironed with the proprieties of particular persons and towns, viz. : by 
the line of the town of Chelmsford, and by Groton line, and by Mr. Bren- 
ton's farm, by Souhegan farms, and beyond Merrimac River, by the outer- 
most line of Henry Kimball's farm, and so to Chelmsford line again — All 
which is in little capacity of doing the country any service except the farms 
bordering upon it be adjoined to said land, to make a plantation there ; 
and there being a considerable number of persons who are of a sober and 
orderly conversation, who do stand in great need of accommodations, who 
are willing and ready to make present improvement of the said vacant 
lands. And the proprietors of the said farms are therefore willing to join 
with and give encouragement to those that shall improve the said lands : 
the farms that are in the tract of land before described being about 14,000 
acres at the least : — 

Your petitioners therefore humbly request the favour of the Honorable 
Court that they will please to grant the said tract of land to your petition- 
ers, and to such as will join with them in the settlement of the lands before 
mentioned, as that those who have improved their farms there, and others 
who speedily intend to do the same, may be in the way for the support 
of the public ordinances of God, for without which the greatest part of 
the year they will be deprived of, the farms lying so far remote from 
any towns : and farther that the Honorable Court will please grant the 
like immunities to this plantation, as they in their favours have for- 
merly granted to other new plantations. So shall your petitioners be ever 
engaged to pray. 

Thomas Brattle. Thomas Edwards. 

Jonathan Tyng. Thomas Wheeler, Sen. 

Joseph Wheeler. Peter Bulkley. 

James Parker, Senior. Joseph Parker. 

Robert Gibes. John Morse, Sen. 

John Turner. Samuel Combs. 

Sampson Sheafe. James Parker, Jr. 

Samuel Scarlet. John Parker. 

William Lakin. ' Josiah Parker. 

Abraham Parker. Nathaniel Blood. 

James Knapp. Robert Parris. 

Robert Proctor. John Joliffe. 

Simon Willard, Jr. Zachariah Long. 



10 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1674 

This petition, signed by such a large number of respectable 
men, was granted by the General Court on the sixteenth day 
of October, O. S. 1673, and the town was thus incorporated.* 

The following is a copy, vci'batim et literatim, of the Act of 
Incorporation as it stands in the Records of the Secretary of 
the State : — 

" In ans"" to the petition [of] Mr. Thomas Brattle, James Parker, Jonathan 
Tyng, Willyam Lakin, in behalfe of themselues & others joyn in their 
humble petition, to desire the favour of this Court to grant them liberty to 
setle a plantation w''i their farme, and a considerable tract of land belong- 
ing to the country being environed wth the proprietyes of particular persons 
& tounes, as by the lyne of Chelmsford, and by Groaten lyne, and by M"" 
Brentons farme, by Souhegon farmes, and beyond Merrimack River by 
the outermost lyne of Henry Kemballs farme, & so to Chelmsford lyne 
againe, as also such imunties to the plantation as this Court have formerly 
granted to other new plantations, the Court judgeth it meete to grant their 
requests, prouided that a farme of fiue hundred acres of vpland & meadow 
be layd out of this tract for the countrys vse and that they proceed in set- 
tling the plantation as to finish it once within three yeares & procure and 
mainteyne an able & orthodoxe minister amongst them. 

" Edward Rawson, Secretary.'''' 

Capt. Jonathan Danforth, of Billerica, a noted land surveyor, 
who died in 171 2, and of whom it was said, — 

" He rode the circuit, chained great towns and farms ; 
To good behaviour ; and by well-marked stations, 
He fixed their bounds for many generations," 

was appointed to perambulate and make a plan of the new 
territory. He completed the survey in May, 1674, and thus 
described the boundaries : — 

" It lieth upon both sides of the Merrimack River on the Nashaway 
River. It is bounded on the south by Chelmsford, by Groton line, 
partly by country land. The westerly line runs due north until you come 
to Souhegan River to a hill called Dram Cup Hill, to a great pine near to 
ye said river at ye north-west corner of Charlestown school farm ; bounded 

* George W. Chase, in his Remarks on the Census of Massachusetts, 1S60, 
assigns " Oct. 15, 1673," ^s the date of the Act of Incorporation, and this was in 
accordance with other writers. The Hon Samuel T. Worcester gave, in 1S73, 
the i6th of October as the true date. On looking at the original records at the 
State House, I find that the session of the General Court, during which the Act 
was passed, began Oct. 15, 1673, <i'>J continued several weeks, but the Act of Incor- 
poration was passed the second day of the session. 



1 574] SURVEY OF CAPT. DANFORTH. jj 

by Souhegan River on the north, and on the east side Merrimack it 
begins at a great stone which was supposed to be near the north-east 
corner of Mr. Brenton's land, and from thence it runs south-south-east 
six miles to a pine tree marked ' F,' standing within sight of Beaver 
Brook ; thence it runs two degrees w^est of south four miles and a quarter 
which reached to the south side of Henry Kimble's farm at Jeremie's Hill; 
thence from ye south-east angell of said farm, it runs two degrees and a 
quarter westward of the south, near to the head of Long Pond, which lieth 
at ye head of Edward Colburn's farm, and thus it is bounded by ye said 
pond and ye head of said Colburn's farm ; taking in Capt. Scarlett's farm 
so as to close again, all which is sufficiently bounded and described. 

" Dunstable, 3d Mo. [May] 1674." 

This tract of land, equal in extent to many a dukedom in 
Europe, embraced about two hundred square miles, or 128,000 
acres, and included what are now^ the towns of Dunstable and 
Tyngsborough, and parts of the towns of Dracut, Groton, Pep- 
perell, and Townsend, Mass., together with the city of Nashua, 
the towns of Hollis, Hudson, and sections of the towns of 
Brookhne, Milford, Amherst, Merrimack, Londonderry, Litch- 
field, and Pelham, N. H. 

The western line extended from some unknown point in 
what is now Townsend,* about ten miles due north by Musca- 
tanapHS, or Bear Pond, near Brookline Centre, to Dram Cup 
Hill, now in Milford, on Souhegan River. The northern boun- 
dary extended along this river to the Merrimack River, and 
thence to a high rock now to be seen in Londonderry, in all, 
about sixteen miles ; the eastern line, starting fpom this rock, 
ran by Beaver Brookf and Long Pond, near Mr. Edward 
Colburn's farm, to a point a little below Wicasuck Island, and 
the southern line ran due west, including the whole of Massa- 
poag Pond, to some point now undetermined in the " country's 
land." 

By the Act of Incorporation all the lands of the town, granted 
or ungranted, became the property of the grantees, who, some 
twelve years subsequently, purchased the title thereto of the 
Wamesit and Naticook Indians for the sum of ;i^20 sterling. 

* Incorporated June 29, i>'32. 

t This stream flows through Dracut, and enters the Merrimack River in the city 
of Lowell. Long Pond, partly in Dracut and partly in Pelham, N. H., was called 
by the Vwd\.x\\s, PiininoiniUiquonnil ; it sends a tributary into Beaver Brook. 



12 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1674 

In no town of this Commonwealth were the lands taken up 
by more noted men, who, though they did not all become 
actual settlers, still exercised a most favorable influence on 
the new plantation. Among the grantees were the brave 
Gov. John Endecott (i 588-1665), who held the highest military 
office in the colony ; William Brenton, a noted fur-trader, and 
subsequently governor of Rhode Island ; Gov. Joseph Dudley, 
(1647-1701), once a member of the British Parliament; Capt. 
Thomas Brattle, a brave and benevolent citizen of Boston ; and 
the Rev. Thomas Weld, first minister of Dunstable. Among 
the petitioners were Peter Bulkley,* Speaker of the House of 
Deputies ; Sampson Sheafe, a member of the Provincial Council 
of New Hampshire ; and Jonathan Tyng, who was honored with 
many important offices, and of great service to the infant 
colony. 

The new town is said to have received its name in compli- 
ment to Mrs. Mary, wife of the Hon. Edward Tyng, who emi- 
grated from Dunstable, England, about 1630, and whose son 
Jonathan became possessor of a large tract of land in what is 
now the town of Tyngsborough. The old English town from 
which, not only the Tyng family, but other early settlers came, 
is pleasantly situated at the base of the Chiltern Hills in Bed- 
fordshire, eighteen miles south -southwest of Bedford and ten 
miles east-northeast of the Boxmore Station of the London 
and Northwestern Railway. It had, in 185 1, 3,589 inhabitants, 
and with its green fields and neatly trimmed hedge-rows, its 
ancient stone church and brick dwelling-houses, makes a very 
picturesque appearance. Henry I founded here a priory of 
black canons, which now forms a part of the ancient church. 
At the Red Lion Inn, Charles I slept on his way to Naseby. 
The name " Dunstable " is supposed to be derived from Dun, 
a notorious robber who lived here in the reign of Henry I ; 
but it comes more probably from " dun," a hilly place, and 
" staple," a mart or emporium. This town is celebrated for 
the manufacture of straw plat bonnets and hats, also for the 

* " Mr. Bulkley was Speaker of the House of Deputies, — son, I suppose, of the 
celebrated minister of Concord of the same name." — Hutchinson's History of 
Massachusetts, I, p. 281. 



1 574] DUNSTABLE, ENGLAND. 1 3 

number and size of the larks it sends to London market. A 
certain kind of straw braid in Massachusetts long bore the 
name of " Dunstable." 

The ancient Norman kings had a palace in this town, and 
here Edward I erected a cross to mark the spot where the 
body of his deceased queen rested on its way to sepulture in 
Westminster Abbey. The town is also noted as the place 
where Archbishop Cranmer, in 1553, pronounced the sentence 
of divorce between Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon. 
As the parish register in early times was not well kept, it fur- 
nishes nothing in respect to the families which emigrated to 
America, yet the present citizens of old English Dunstable 
e>f press a kindly interest in the welfare of its namesake in 
New England. 



14 mSTOKY 01' DUNS7ABLE. [1665 



CHAPTER II. 

Description of the Orioinal Town. — John Cromwell the First Set- 
tler. — An Agreement between the Inhabitants. — Names of Early 
Residents. — An Account of the Indians of this Region. — Their 
Mode of Living. — Fassaconaway. — John Eliot. — Wannalancet. 
— His Conversion to Christianity and Friendship. — Philip's War. 
— Exposed Situation of Dunstable. — Obadiah Perry. — Jonathan 
Tyng's Bravery. — His Petition to the General Court. — Pray- 
ing Indians removed to Wicasuck Falls. 

"Beneath the same sun that rolls over your heads, the Indian hunter 
pursued the panting deer ; gazing on the same moon that smiles for you, 
the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate." Charles Sprague. 

" Each town was a small but perfect republic, as solitary and secluded 
in the New England wilderness as the Swiss cantons among the Alps." 

George W. Curtis. 

" Ye sons, think deep ; be strong in heart and hand ; 
Remember God, who with his silver key 
Unlocked the western gates, and gave this land 

To Freedom's sons, and all whom truth makes free." 

Frances M. Caulkins. 

This whole region was then, with the exception of an occa- 
sional clearing in which the Indians had planted maize, beans, 
and squashes, covered with a heavy growth of pine, oak, wal- 
nut, maple, birch, and other kinds of timber. It was well 
watered by the noble Merrimack, the Nashua, the Souhegan, 
and the Nissitisset Rivers, together with their numerous trib- 
utaries and several beautiful ponds, whose waters were fre- 
quented by the wild fowl and well stored with fish. The 
beaver built its dam by felling trees across the minor streams ; 
the otter, mink, and muskrat were often seen gliding over the 
still waters ; bears, wolves, and catamounts ranged through 
the tangled forests, and their peltries well repaid the huntsman 



J 555] JOHN CROMWELL. 1 5 

for his venturesome excursions. Here and tliere an Indian 
trail appeared, for the most part leading to some waterfall 
where the red men met in the fishing season, and where they 
generally built their wigwams and performed their savage 
rites. Here and there a trading-post, as that of Cromwell, 
had been established, and the woodman's axe or gun occasion- 
ally resounded through the wilderness. 

The name of the first white settler of this broad domain is 
not certainly known ; there is a tradition, however, that one 
John Cromwell from Boston came to what is now Tyngs- 
borough as early as 1665, for the purpose of trading with the 
Indians. He used his foot, it is said, as a pound weight in 
buying peltries of the natives ; but on being detected in this 
iniquitous proceeding, came near to pay the penalty with his 
life. A party of the Pennacook Indians whom he had thus 
defrauded came down the river to wreak on him their ven- 
geance ; but on being advertised of their approach, he gath- 
ered up his ill-gotten treasure and saved himself by flight. 
The cellar of his house, which the Indians burned, is still 
visible, and not many years since a sum of money is said to 
have been found in a rusty iron pot by some one who was 
ploughing a field in the vicinity. The Rev. Nathaniel Pren- 
tice, in his account of Tyngsborough, October, 18 15, thus refers 
to him : — * 

" It is about one hundred and fifty years since he erected a hut in this 
place on the banks of the Merrimack. . . . Within a few hours after 
his flight [from the incensed natives] a party of the Pennacook tribe 
arrived, and not fin'ding the object of their resentment, burnt his hut. 
Some time after pewter was found in the well, and an iron pot and tram- 
mel in the sand ; the latter are preserved. The present owner of the 
place was ploughing near the spot and found his plough moving over a 
flat stone which gave a hollow sound. On removing the earth and stone, 
he discovered a hole stoned about six inches in diameter, from which he 
took a sum of money." 

It is probable, however, that some tracts of land were set- 
tled anterior to this period ; perhaps about the time, or a little 
after, the grant of land at Naticook was made, in 1656, to 
William Brenton. 

* See Massachusetts Historical Collections, Second Series, Vol. IV, p. 192. 



1 6 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1674 

The exclusive right of trading with the Indians on the 
Merrimack River was sold to Simon Willard, Thomas Hench- 
man (of Chelmsford), Ensign Thomas Wheeler, and William 
Brenton for ^{^25 on the first day of July, 1657, and we may 
well suppose that actual settlements were made soon after- 
wards. Some of the farmers, or those cultivating the soil 
there, signed the petition for incorporation in 1673 ; the pro- 
prietors met at the house of Lieut. Wheeler in 1674, which 
was perhaps the second one erected on the plantation, and 
apple orchards are spoken of in the year following, — all of 
which would lead to the belief that some lands had been 
actually occupied and improved by the English a considerable 
period anterior to the charter. 

Previous to the division of their lands the proprietors wisely 
entered into a written agreement, by which every actual set- 
tler was to have a house-lot of ten acres, with an additional 
acre for every ^20 of personal estate he might possess, but 
none were to have a house-lot of more than thirty acres ; 
while the remainder of the common land was to be divided in 
proportion to the value of the respective house-lots.* 

" To the intent," proceeds the compact, " y' we may live in 
love and peace together, we do agree, y' whatever fence we 
do make, either about corn-fields, orchards, or gardens, shall 
be a sufficient four rail fence, or y' which is equivalent, whether 
hedge, ditch, or stone wall, or of loggs ; and if any person sus- 
tain damage through the deficiency of their own fences not 
being according to order, he shall bear hi^ own damage." 
This excellent provision, doubtless, prevented many petty feuds 
and vexations which otherwise would have arisen, and shows 
the amicable disposition as well as the good sense of the 
fathers of the town. 

The settlements were begun along the pleasant margin of 
Salmon Brook, which afforded fish in abundance and consider- 
able motive-power, and were extended southwards down that 
stream and along the right bank of the Merrimack River. A 



* A thirty-acre house-lot entitled the holder to six hundred acres of the 
common land. 



1674] INDIAN TRIBES. 1 7 

garrison house was soon erected ; and invited by the rich allu- 
vial soil, the heavy timber growth, and the liberal policy of the 
proprietors, the tide of emigration set in rapidly to the new and 
hopeful town. It numbered soon amongst its actual inhabi- 
tants John Acres, John, William, and Samuel Beale, John 
Blanchard, Andrew Cook, Isaac, John, and Thomas Cum- 
mings, Henry Farwell, Samuel French, John and Samuel 
Gould, Joseph Hassell, John, John, Jr., and Joseph Lovewell, 
Thomas Lund, Robert Parris, Obadiah Perry, Robert Proctor, 
Christopher Read, John Sollendine, Christopher Temple, 
Edward Tyng, Jonathan Tyng, Robert Usher, Daniel and John 
Waldo, Samuel Warner, Thomas Weld, Joseph Wheeler, and 
Samuel Whiting, son of the Rev. Samuel Whiting of Billerica. ' 

The Indians, who were always less numerous in New Eng- 
land than is commonly supposed, had been greatly reduced by 
a plague which occurred several years anterior to the arrival 
of the Pilgrims, and therefore found it expedient to manifest 
in general a pacific bearing towards the early English settlers. 

Those in Massachusetts, together with those on the Merri- 
mack River, were divided into four principal tribes, of which 
the Pawtuckets, embracing several minor tribes, called the 
Nashaways, Nashobas, Pennacooks, Naticooks, and Wamesits, 
are thought to have numbered, in 1674, about one thousand 
people. On account of their nomadic kind of life, their terri- 
torial boundaries were very indefinite ; but the headquarters 
of the Nashaways were the rich intervals of Lancaster ; of the 
Nashobas, the forests of Littleton ; of the Pennacooks, the 
alluvial lands of Concord, N. H. ; and of the Naticooks, the fer- 
tile tracts near the mouth of the Souhegan River ; while the 
Wamesits* dwelt near the Falls in the Concord River, and the 
Pawtuckets near the Falls which perpetuate their name in 
the Merrimack River. 

These Indians dwelt in huts called wigwams, dressed in the 
skins of animals, and subsisted on fish and game, which the 
streams and forests abijndantly supplied, and on Indian corn, 



* Wamesit signifies " a place of a large assembly." Fait'tuckd means " falling 
waters." 

2 



1 8 niSTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1644 

beans, and squashes, whieh the women rudely cultivated, using 
a large clam-shell for a hoc. They parched their corn, and 
pounded it in mortars made of stone.* 

Their skin was copper-colored ; their hair long, straight, and 
black. They wore moccasons, made of untanned deer or bear 
skin, on their feet. For money they made use of shells, called 
wavipmn, strung upon a belt ; and for weapons of war, the 
tomahawk, made of stone, the bow and arrow, and the scalp- 
ing-knife. 

Their language was rough and guttural, though many words, 
as " Nashua," " Nashoba," " Miantonimo," and " Passaconna- 
way" (meaning child of the bear), are as euphonious as the 
ear of a Tuscan could desire. They had some faint notions 
of a Supreme Power, and held a compact, justly made, to be 
inviolable. 

With such rude beings the early white settlers had to deal, 
and keep the peace, as far as possible. Of such barbarians 
they bought the land, and to them they presented the illumi- 
nation of the gospel. Of the subordinate tribes above men- 
tioned, the Pennacooks were considered the most warlike ; and 
the great chief Passaconnaway, to whom all the rest were 
subject, dwelt in part amongst them and in part with the 
Pawtuckets, who occupied, as it were, the central part of his 
dominions. 

He is mentioned by Gov, John Winthrop as early as 1632, 
and the English, ten years later, fearing a conspiracy, sent a 
force of forty men to take him captive ; but failing in the 
attempt, they inhumanly fired upon his son and made him 
prisoner. In 1644 the father and son submitted themselves, 
together with their people and possessions, to the government 
of Massachusetts.! 

After ample preparation, the Rev. John Eliot, a most de- 
voted missionary of the cross, commenced his labors amongst 

* There is a very curious Indian mortar cut into a huge bowlder in a forest near 
" Angle Meadow," on the farm of the late John Swallow. It is about seven inches 
deep and the same in diameter. Long usage has rendered the surface very 
smooth. It is usually filled with water. 

t Drake's Book of the Indians, Bk. Ill, p. 95. 



1 652] rASSACOiViVAlFAV. ig 

the Indians at Nonantum, now Newton, in the autumn of 
1646, and soon afterwards extended his visits to Concord and 
to Wamesit. On his second visit to the latter place, which 
occurred in the spring of 1648, he met a large concourse of 
the natives, who had come from all quarters to fish at the Falls 
in the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, and he improved the 
opportunity to impart to them the elements of the Christian 
religion, preaching his first sermon to them from Malachi i, 
ir, which he thus paraphrased: "From the rising of the 
sun to the going down of the same. Thy name shall be great 
among the Indians ; and in everyplace, prayers shall be made 
to thy name, — pure prayers; for thy name shall be great among 
the Indians." Passaconnaway, who would not listen to Mr. 
Eliot on his first visit, now came forward, proposed many 
questions, and expressed his determination to pray to God, 
and to persuade his sons, two of whom were present, to do 
the same. 

This celebrated chief, who was a powwow or socerer, and 
who was believed by the natives to be able to " make water 
burn, rocks move, and trees dance,"* desired Mr. Eliot, on his 
visit to Pavvtucket the ensuing year, to come and reside per- 
manently with his people and be their teacher. Although the 
missionary could not accede to this request, he continued his 
annual visits to the Pawtuckets, and here established what was 
called his fifth " praying town " of the Indians. It is not cer- 
tain that he preached at any place within the original limits of 
Dunstable ; but the Indians of this region, who were all under 
the same sagamore, assembled at Pawtucket or Wamesit to 
be instructed by Mr. Eliot, or in his absence by their teacher, 
Numphow, as to the principles of the gospel. Passaconna- 
way lived to an advanced age, and continued to the last a faith- 
ful friend of the English. In 1662 the General Court granted 
to him and his men a tract of land above Mr. Brenton's farm, 
a mile and a half in breadth and three miles in length on 
either side of the Merrimack River, Some time previous to 
his death, which occurred anterior to Philip's War, he said to 
his children and friends : — 

* Hutchinson's History of MassacJmscUs, VI, p. 420. 



20 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1665 

" I am now going the way of all flesh, or am ready to die, and I am not 
likely to see you meet together any more. I will now have this word 
of counsel with you, that you may take heed how you quarrel with the 
English ; for though you may do them much mischief, yet assuredly you 
will all be destroyed and rooted off the earth, if you do ; for I was as 
much an enemy to the English, at their first coming into these parts, as 
any one whatsoever, and did try all ways and means possible to have them 
destroyed, at least to have prevented them settling down here, but I 
could no way effect it ; therefore, I advise you never to contend with the 
English, nor make war with them."* 

To the pacific counsel and forbearance of this noble chief 
and his son and successor Wannalancet, the security which 
the early white settlers of this region for a long period 
enjoyed is, to a large extent, attributable. In his beautiful 
poem of "The 15ride of Pennacook," Mr. Whitticr thus alludes 
to the black arts practised by Passaconnaway : — 

" For that chief had magic skill, 
And a Panisee's dark will 
Over powers of good and ill, — 

Powers which bless and powers which ban. 
Wizzard lord of Pennacook ! 
Chiefs upon their war-paths shook. 
When they met the steady look 
Of that wise, dark man." 

In the year 1653 Mr. Eliot obtained a grant of land of the 
General Court for his "praying Indians" at Pawtucket Falls. 
The bounds were subsequently enlarged so as to embrace about 
2,500 acres, lying on both sides and at the mouth of the Con- 
cord River, A ditch to mark the limits of this reservation 
was dug in 1665, and the place was called Wamesit. Traces 
of this ditch are still visible. From this period the Pawtucket 
and Wamesit Indians were blended together under the latter 
name. Although for the most part peaceable and friendly to 
the whites, these Indians were not much inclined to Chris- 
tianity, and Mr. Eliot was never able to establish a church 
amongst them. He had the pleasure, however, of seeing them 
adopt, to some extent, the English customs, and also to reckon 

* Drake's Book of the Indians, III, 94. 



J 574] WANNALANCET. 2f 

among his converts, not only the great chief and powwow * 
Passaconnaway, but also his son Wannalancet, who succeeded 
to the rule of the tribe on the death of his father, about 1662, 
and who, according to Gen. Daniel Gookin, " was always 
loving and friendly to the English." 

He was imprisoned for a debt of £^<, in 1659, but set 
at liberty by the sale of the small island Wicasuck,! of 
about sixty acres, in the Merrimack River, three miles above 
Pawtucket Falls. Fearing an attack from the Mohawks in 
1669, he came down the Merrimack River with a party of the 
Pennacooks, and erected a fortification on what is now called 
Fort Hill in Lowell, where he for some time resided. The 
settlers of Dunstable were alarmed by the reports concerning 
the Mohawks, and withdrew for refuge into their garrison 
house.ij: where they doubtless spent many a long and sleep- 
less night in anticipation of the wily foe. 

During his visit to Wamesit, May, 1674, Mr. Eliot preached 
on the Parable of the Virgin (Matt, xxii, 1-14), in the house of 
Wannalancet, and on the day following the sachem made this 
declaration : — 

" Sirs, you have been pleased for years past, in your abundant love, to 
apply yourselves particularly unto me and my people to exhort, press, and 
persuade us to pray to God. I am very thankful to you for your pains. 
I must acknowledge I have all my days been used to pass in an old 
canoe, and now you exhort me to change and leave my old canoe and 
embark in a new one, to which I have hitherto been unwilling ; but now I 
yield up myself to your advice and enter into a new canoe, and do engage 
to pray to God hereafter." § 

* These powwows answered to the description which the author of the Anat- 
oviy of Melancholy gives to Pythagoras, being " part philosopher, part magician, 
and part witch." See Memories of the Indians and Pioneers of the Region of 
Lowell, by Charles Cowley, p. 5. 

tThe General Court granted, Oct. 11, 1665, "to Nobstow, Wannalancet, 
Nonatomenut, Indians, the island called Wicosucke." It was previously owned 
by " Mr. John Euered, aljas Webb " — Records of the Governor and Conipany of 
Massachusetts Bay, Vol. IV, Pt. 2, p. 285. 

J These garrisons "were environed by a strong wall of stones or of hewn 
timber, built up to the eaves of the houses, through which was a gate, fastened 
by bars and bolts of iron. They were lined either with brick or thick plank. 
Some of them had port-holes for the discharge of musketry." — Allen's history 
of Chelmsford, p. 148. 

$5 Allen's Chelmsford, p. 156. 



2 2 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. . [f675 

At this time Wamcsit contained about two hundred and 
fifty men, beside women and children.* 

Hardly had the little band of farmers laid the foundation 
of the town and raised their first rude buildings for the 
protection of their families, when they were startled by the 
intelligence that the savages were in arms against the col- 
ony. 

In the spring of 1675, Philip of Pokanoket, in confederation 
with most of the other sachems of New England, commenced 
hostilities, with the determination of sweeping the hated pale- 
faces from the country. The advance of the savage foe was 
marked by fire and bloodshed, and town after town was laid in 
ruins. In point of numbers, position, power of endurance, and 
acquaintance with the territory, the Indians had the advan- 
tage ; and when, in addition to all this, we consider that they 
had learned the use of fire-arms, that they fought in ambush, 
and that their hatred against the English was inveterate, it is 
almost a marvel that any town escaped destruction. 

Dunstable, an outlying frontier in the wilderness, was pe- 
culiarly exposed. The Wamesit Indians, not altogether trust- 
worthy, were on the east, the hostile Pennacooks on the north, 
and the nearest towns from which any assistance could be had 
were Chelmsford and Groton, on the south. Seven Indians 
at work for Mr. Jonathan Tyng, near Wicasuck Island, fled on 
hearing of the outbreak ; and Wannalancet, ever the friend of 
the white man, retired from Wamesit, and sought for safety in 
the wilderness. 

In a petition to the governor and his council by Simon Wil- 
lard, Solomon Adams, James Parker, and James Kidder, dated 
Groton, Sept. 25, 1675, it is stated that "our p-'sent thoughts 
arc, that it might be for p'sent saftie for the country, that a 
Garison wear settled ouer Merrimake Riucr about donstable, 
that ther maye be enttcrcorse betwecne our towns & that 
Garison," and in the same month Capt. Thomas Brattle and 
Lieut. Thomas Henchman were directed " to draft fifty men to 
form garrisons at Dunstable, Groton, and Lancaster" ; also to 

* Allen's Chelmsford, p. 141. 



l6/S] JONATHAN TYNG. 23 

"send a runner or two" to Wannalancet to persuade him to 
return to Wamesit. 

Although these instructions were obeyed, the feeling of 
insecurity became so great that the inhabitants, abandoning 
their little fort, the meeting-house they were then erecting, 
and their dwelling-houses, which had now begun to assume a 
certain air of comfort, sought protection in the towns of 
Chelmsford, Concord, Billerica, and Boston. Joseph Parker, 
constable of Dunstable from [675 to 1682, was wounded in 
the assault on Chelmsford, March 20, 1676; and the following 
entry on the records of Billerica shows that one of the inhabi- 
tants of Dunstable, at least, found a refuge in this town : " 10, 
12 mo. 1675. Obedia perry belonging to Dunstable towne 
(now resident at Concord, but being inforced to remove from 
thence, and not accounting it safe at ye present to remove to 
his owne at Dunstable) desiring at present to hire a house at 
Billerica, the selectmen, considering his condition, do grant 
him liberty to hire in this towne." * He was subsequently 
killed by the Indians at Dunstable.f 

One heroic man, however, braving the danger, stood firmly 
at his post through the whole war, and is therefore justly 
entitled to the honor of being the first permanent settler of 
the town of Dunstable. It was the Hon. Jonathan Tyng, son 
of the Hon. Edward and Mary Tyng, who was born Dec. 15. 
1642 ; married Sarah, daughter of Hezekiah Usher, early re- 
moved from Boston to Dunstable, where he held many public 
offices; and died Jan. 9, 1724. His father, Edward Tyng, 
came to Dunstable in 1679, and died here Dec. 28, 168 1, at 
the age of eighty-one years. The house of Jonathan Tyng 
stood on the right bank of the Merrimack River, nearly oppo- 
site Wicasuck Island, and about one mile below the central 
village of Tyngsborough. It was long known as " the haunted 
house." Nothing but the cellar-hole now remains. Fortify- 
ing his abode as best he could, and sending to Boston for his 
food, this brave man stood alone as an outpost between the 



* Town Records of Billerica, Vol. I, p. 126. 
t Dunstai>le Town Records. 



24 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1676 

enemy and the settlements below. Finding the Indians 
approaching hmi, he petitioned* the General Court for assist- 
ance Feb. 3, 1675-6, and several soldiers were immediately 
sent to aid in his defence ; but it does not appear that any 
assault was made upon his garrison. 

This point near Wicasuck Island was then Dunstable, and 
Jonathan Tyng individually and collectively the sole repre- 
sentative Let his name be perpetually held in memory ! The 
soldiers sent to guard his house were detached from the heroic 
Capt. Samuel Moseley's company. On the 9th of August, 1676, 
Mr. Jonathan Tyng again petitioned the General Court for pay 
for the cost of his garrison, stating that he "hath been of great 
charge and cost to maintaine his garrison, being the only re- 
maining house of that plantation," and that he was forced to 
buy meat in Boston. He also presents an account for billet- 
ing "18 of Capt. Moseley's men from Aug. 13 to Sept. 10, 
;^i6 i6j-. ; for 9 men from Sept. 1 1 to Jan. 17, £,^'] i8j-. ; for 
6 men from Jan. 18 to May 25, ^^25 3^-. ; and for 3 men from 
May 26 to July 14, £,^ Zs. Also for 20 lbs. of powder at 
sundry times at \Zd per lb. & 250 bullets, 5^., delivered for 
scouting." Also, " for 2 horses to Pennycook out 3 days, \s. 
6^." t 

After destroying as many as thirteen towns and six hun- 
dred colonists, the crafty Philip was shot at Mount Hope, 

* "The Petition of Jonathan Tyng Humbly Sheweth : That yr Petitioner living 
in the uppermost house on Merrimac River, lying open to ye enemy, yet being so 
seated that it is as it were a watch house to the neighbouring towns, from whence 
we can easily give them notice of the approach of the enemy, and may also be of 
use to the publique in many respects ; also are near unto the place of the Indians 
ffishing, from which in the season thereof they have great supplies, which I doubt 
not but we may be a great means of j^reventing them thereof, there being never an 
inhabitant left in the town but myself: — 

" Wherefore your Petitioner doth humbly request that your Honors would be 
pleased to order him three or four men to help garrison his said house, which he 
has been at great charge to ffortify, and may be of service to the publique : your 
favour herein shall further oblige me as in duty bound to pray for a blessing on 
your Councils, and remain 

" Your Honrabies humble servant, 

"JONATH.VN TVNG. 
'• DUNSTABLB, Feb. 3, 1675-6." 

t Massachusetts Archives. 



1676] WICASUCK ISLAND, 2$ 

R. I., Aug. 12, 1676, and the war soon brought to a close. A 
party of the " praying Indians " at Wamesit, numbering in all 
about sixty, were now removed to Wicasuck Island, or vicinity, 
and placed under the direction of Jonathan Tyng, who had 
Robert Parris as an assistant in the care of them. Here, it is 
probable, the good John Eliot occasionally came to instruct his 
converts in respect to the principles of Christianity. These 
praying Indians remained at Wicasuck Falls about ten years ; 
and on their departure to St. Francis, in Canada, in 1686, 
Wicasuck Island* was granted to Mr. Tyng in compensation 
for his care of them. He was, also, together with Thomas 
Wheeler and son, the latter of whom had been wounded, remu- 
nerated for losses during the war. 

* Dec. 5, 16S3, the Court granted to Mr. Jonathan Tyng "the island in Merri- 
niacke River called Weikeset." (Massachusetts Archives.) 



26 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1677 



CHAPTER III. 

Town Officers. — The First Meeting-House. — Rev. Thomas Weld. — 
Resident Landholders. — The Tyng Estatf. — The Organization 
OF the Church. — Names of the Original Members. — The Great 
Bridge at Billerica. — The "Bay Psalm Book." — Alarm from the 
Indians. — The Garrisons. — Several Inhaiutants killed by the 
Savages. — Petition to the General Court for Soldiers. — Letter 
from Gov. Stoughton. — Joe English. — The First Grist-Miil. — 
Names of the Settlers, 16S9. — Death of Mr. Weld. — Another 
Garrison estaih.ished. — Capt. John Tyng's Exploit. — Robirt 
Parris killed by the Indians. — Samuel Butterfield and Samuel 
Whiting taken Captives. — Attack of the Mohawks. — Record of 
Those killed. — Joe English slain. — An Account of the Garri- 
sons in 17 it. — Condition of the People. — Rev. Samuel Hunt. — 
Rev. Samuel Parris. — Other Ministers. — Settlement of the Rev. 
Nathaniel Prentice. — Boundary between Dunstable and Dracut. 

" These little municipalities were the nurseries of those principles of 
freedom, and trained our ancestors to that capacity of administration which 
has made us a great nation of freemen, extending, from the ri.sing to the 
setting sun." RuFUS P. Stebhins. 

" Their pious toils, their just rewards. 
Returning tribute claim ; 
While faithful History records 
Each venerable name." 

Samuel Davis. 

At the conclusion of the war one family after another 
returned to their deserted homes and resumed their labors in 
the wilderness. Town officers were doubtless chosen imme- 
diately after the Act of Incorporation, but their names arc not 
preserved. The earliest town meeting on record was held at 
Woburn, Nov 28, 1677, when Capt. Thomas Brattle, of Boston, 
and one of the largest proprietors, Capt. Elisha Hutchinson, 
of Woburn, Capt. James Parker, of Groton, Abraham Parker, 
of the same place, and Mr. Jonathan Tyng were chosen select- 



1 582] SELECTMEN CHOSEN. 2/ 

men. They were invested with much more power than such 
officers possess at the present day, and it was left with them 
to select a minister, at a salary of ;^50 per annum, to be paid 
in money, or if otherwise, one third more was to be added 
thereto. John Sollendine, a carpenter, was engaged to com- 
plete the unfinished meeting-house, which was probably but 
little more than a log-shanty, and which is supposed to have 
stood on the river road, then not much better than an Indian 
trail, a little distance from the present northern line of Tyngs- 
borough, and somewhere between " the Salmon Brook and 
the house of Lieut. Joseph Wheeler." It was finished in 1678, 
but there is no account of any dedication. The Rev. Thomas 
Weld, a grandson of the Rev. Thomas Weld, of Roxbury, one 
of the authors of the celebrated Bay Psalm Book, published 
in 1640, was the first minister. He graduated at Harvard 
College in 1671, and commenced preaching in Dunstable as 
early as May, 1679. He married, Nov. 9, 168 r, Elizabeth, 
daughter of the Rev. John Wilson, of Medfield, and built a 
house on the ministerial lot.* This consisted of thirty acres, 
and entitled the occupant to the use of six hundred acres of 
the common or undivided territory. For his encouragement 
in the ministry the town granted him, in 1682, a twenty-acre 
lot, but at that period the land was of but little value. 

Capt. Thomas Brattle, Capt. James Parker, Sergt. John 
Cummings, and Robert Parris were this year chosen select, or 
town's men, and an order was passed that the lots of those 
neglecting or refusing to pay their taxes " be sould at an out- 
cry [auction] on the next public meeting day after such neglect 
or refus." It seems, also, that a pound had been erected, 
since John Ackers was then " appointed and Imployed to 
pound, youke and Ringe such hogs " as might not be kept 
according to law. 

Although the town had at this time laid out as many as 
eighty " thirty-aere house-lots," and had as many as thirty fami- 
lies, the following land-owners only were then residents of the 



* A small tributary of Howard's Brook is called Weld's Brook, probably from 
the circumstance of its running through his land. 



28 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1687 

place, viz., John Acres, John Blanchard, John Cummings, 
Sr., Thomas Cummings, Joseph Hassell, Thomas Lund, Joseph 
Parker, Sr., Abraham Parker, John Sollendine, Jonathan 
Tyng, Widow Mary Tyng, and Joseph Wright. Of these, the 
largest landholder was the gallant Jonathan Tyng, who, in 
consideration of ;^23 due him by the town, received three 
thirty-acre rights, equivalent in all to about 1,800 acres. This 
land, with large accessions, has continued in the Tyng and 
Brinley families to the present day, and extends from the Mer- 
rimack River, about six miles westward by one mile wide, to 
the Massapoag Pond, forming a large part of the town of 
Tyngsborough. It is, perhaps, the only instance in Massa- 
chusetts where such an extensive territorial domain has 
remained so long undivided and under the control of the 
descendants of the original proprietor. 

The first birth mentioned on the town records, and this 
under the caption, " Lambs born in Dunstable," is that of 
William, son of Jonathan and Sarah (Usher) Tyng, born April 
22, 1679 ; and the first marriage is that of John Sollendine, 
Aug. 2, of the year ensuing. 

In 1684 a new meeting-house was built after the dimen- 
sions of that in Groton, and on the i6th of December, 1685, a 
church was organized, consisting of the following male mem- 
bers : viz., John Blanchard, John Cummings, Sr., Samuel 
French,* Obadiah Perry, Jonathan Tyng, and Cornelius Waldo. 
The first and last man named were chosen deacons, and on 
the same day the Rev. Thomas Weld was ordained pastor. 

Previous to the formation of the church, a road was laid out 
from the meeting-house to Groton Centre, probably on the 
old Indian trail, as far as Massapoag Pond, at least; and in 
1687 the town was assessed ;£i\ 12s. 3^. to aid in building 

* Samuel French was a son of Lieut. William French, who came in the " De- 
fence" from London, 1635, and settled in Cambridge, then in Hillerica. He was 
born in Cambridge, Dec. 3, 1645, removed to Dunstable, where he married Sarah, 
daughter of John Cummings, Sr., Dec. 24, 16S2. One of his sons, John, born in 
May, 1691, was the father of Ebenezer French, of Revolutionary memory; another 
son, Ebene/.cr, born April 7, 1693, was killed by the Indians, at Naticook, Sept. 
5, 1724. Still another, Jonathan, born Feb. i, 1704, was a deacon, and died Nov- 
17, 1757- 



1689] "^^ ASSAULT AVERTED. 29 

what was long called "the Great Bridge" over the Concord 
River near " the Fordvvay " in Billerica, this being then on the 
main route of travel to Boston. At a town meeting held on the 
2 1st of May of the year ensuing, Samuel Gould was chosen 
"dog-whipper for the meeting-house," — an office then almost 
indispensable, since the country was infested with wild ani- 
mals as well as Indians, and for defence the settler used to 
take his dog and gun with him to church. The Bay Psalm 
Book was at this time the manual of song. The words of 
the psalm as, 

" O all yee servants of the Lord 
Behold the Lord bless yee ; 
Yee who within Jehovahs house 
r the night time standing bee," 

were "lined out" by one of the deacons, and sung to some 
such tune as " Hackney " or " York Tune " by the congrega- 
tion standing. 

The great English Revolution came on in 1688, the house of 
Stuart fell, and in consequence a contest between France and 
England followed, known in history as " King William's War." 
Instigated by the French Jesuits, the Indians again set out 
upon the war-path, and committed many ravages upon the towns 
along the frontier. On the 7th of July, 1689, they commenced 
their bloody work by assaulting Dover, killing Major Richard 
Waldron, together with twenty of his men, and carrying about 
thirty of the inhabitants into captivity. 

An attack on Dunstable was at the same time intended, 
but it was fortunately averted by information seasonably given 
by two friendly Indians to Major Thomas Henchman, then 
commander of the little garrison at Pawtucket Falls, and two 
companies of twenty, subsequently reinforced by fi/ty men, 
were promptly sent to scour the country from Lancaster to 
Dunstable and defend the people.* Major Henchman also 
ordered forty men from the towns exposed to danger to scout 
the wilderness for the enemy for a brief period, and asked the 
government for twenty more to guard the houses of Messrs. 

* See the order for this, Massachusetts Archives, Vol. CVII, p. 169. 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[l69[ 



Vanuim, Howard, and Coburn, which were prominently ex- 
posed to an assault. The garrisons at this time were at or 
near the dwelling-houses of Jonathan Tyng, Edward Colburn, 
Nathaniel Howard, on Holdcn's Brook ; Sergt Varnum, on the 
left bank of the Merrimack River ; and one was in the vicinity 
of the church. The danger to which the few settlers in this 
frontier plantation were then exposed, and the sufferings they 
experienced, may be inferred from the following petition in 
Vol. CVH, page 230, of the Massachusetts Archives : — 

Dunstable, ye July 23, 1689. 
To the Honorable, Gouernor and Council! & Company of Represent- 
atives now assembled at Boston, the Petition of the Inhabitants of 
Dunstable humbly sheweth that wee are much obliged to your Honors for 
your last Supply of Men notwithstanding finding ourselves still weak and 
unable both to keep our Garrisons, and to send men out to get hay for 
our Cattle, without doeing which wee cannot subsist ; we doe therefore, 
humbly Intreat your Honours to send and supply us with twenty footmen 
for the Space of a month to scout about the towne while we get our hay ; 
and the towne being very bare of provision by reason of billeting soul- 
diers all the last winter, we doe therefore, intreat your Honours to send a 
supply of meat, for bread we can supply, and without this help we cannot 
subsist, but must be forced to draw of and leave the towne. Hoping 
your Honours will Consider us in this request, wee Remaine your ser- 
vants ever to pray for you. Subscribed by the select Men in the name of 
the towne. 

JuHN Blanchard, 
John Lovevvell, 
RoBT. Parris, 
Christopher Read, 
Samuel Whiting. 

Although four Indian spies were seen lurking around one of 
the garrisons at Dunstable about the time of the massacre 
at Dover, such was the promptitude of Major Henchman, 
Jonathan Tyng, Sergt. Varnum, and others, that no attack was 
then made on the town ; yet the enemy was bent on its 
destruction, and on the evening of the 2d of September, 1691, 
suddenly appeared and murdered five of the inhabitants. The 
atrocious deed is thus recorded : — 

"Anno Domini 1691. Joseph Hassell senior, Anna Hassell, his wife, 
Benj. Hassell, their son, were slain by our Indian enemies on Sept 2nd 
in the evening. Mary Marks, the daughter of Peter Marks, was slain 
by the Indians also on Sept. 2nd day in the evening." 



i5q7] ^/A'^. HANNAH D US TON. 3I 

On the morning of the 2Sth of the same month, the foe again 
appeared iti Dunstable, and murdered two more of the people, 
one of whom, Obadiah Perry, as we have said, had been 
allowed to hire a house in Billerica during King Philip's War. 
The brief reeord of the tragedy is : — 

" Obadiah Perry and Christopher Temple dyed by the hand of our 
Indian enemies on September, the twenty-eighth day, in the morning." 

It does not appear that Dunstable was disturbed by the 
Indians in the summer 1694, when they made their great 
assault on Groton. The following letter from Gov. William 
Stoughton to Capt. James Converse, of Woburn, dated Boston, 
Sept. 5, 1695, evinces the danger to which Dunstable and other 
frontier settlements were exposed, and the desire of the gov- 
ernment to protect them : — 

" I order That at your next passing over Merrimack with your Company 
towards Dunstable etc That you advise with Majr Henchman and Mr. 
Jona Ting concerning the posting of yo^ men in the several Frontiers of 
Dunstable, Bilrica Chelmsford Groton, Lancaster and Marlboro for the 
better inforcem' of the Garrisons there & maintaining a good brisk Scout 
for the discovery of the Enemy to prevent their annoying of those Towns 
during the Harvest Season." * 

Brave and hardy as the original settlers were, such was their 
exposed situation, and such the havoc of the Indians in other 
towns, that by the year 1696 nearly two thirds of them had 
abandoned the place, and on this account the State made an 
abatement of ;^50 to the town lor the taxes of such as had 
deserted it. P"or the same reason ;£lo were granted by the 
State to help the town support the minister. The State also 
voted, Oct. 28, 1697, ;z{^20 " towards y^ mentainance of the min- 
istry at y*^ Garrisons & Towne." f The garrisons were now 
under the care of the brave Jonathan Tyng, and he was allowed 
^20 for keeping the friendly sachem Wannalancet, who had 
again returned to his favorite abode at Wicasuck Island. 

In April, 1697, the celebrated heroine, Mrs. Hannah Duston, 
on her way to Boston from Contocook, N. H., where she had, 
with Mary Neff and a boy, taken the scalps of ten Indians, 

*Dr. Samuel A. Green's Historical Address at Groton, July 4, 1876, p. 78. 
t Massachusetts Archives, Vol. XI, p. 126. 



^2 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1698 

passed through the town in a canoe, and was kindly enter- 
tained by Col. Jonathan Tyng. 

Another friendly Indian, Joe English, returned from cap- 
tivity to his home in Dunstable in 1698, and was allowed ^6 
by the General Court for services " in giving intelligence of 
the motions of the enemy." 

The first grist-mill in town was owned by Samuel Adams, 
and was established at " The Gulf" at Massapoag Pond prior 
to July, 1689, as may be seen from the following petition for 
men to defend it from the Indians : — 

"July ye 31, 1689. The humble petission of the Towne of Dunstable, 
To the honerable gouernor & Council! & Company of the Representatives 
now assembled : in behalf of Samuell Addams owner of a Corn mill with- 
out the use of which mill the Towne Cannot subsist And therefore we 
doe intreat your honers to allow such a number of men as may be able to 
.secure it. And so we remain your humble devotes ever to pray. By the 
selectmen in the name of the towne, John blanchard, John Lovewell, Chris- 
topher Reed, Samuel Whiting, Robert Parris." * 

The town raised this year a small sum of money to join 
with other towns in rebuilding " the great bridge " over Con- 
cord River in Billerica ; and in the year ensuing, the minister's 
rate was ;Q\'] 2s. 2d., in addition to which he was to be sup- 
plied with nineteen cords of wood. The names of those who 
contributed to " the wood rate," or of all the heads of families 
then in town, are, Joseph Blanchard, Nathaniel Blanchard, 
Thomas Blanchard, Abraham Cummings, John Cummings, 
Nathaniel Cummings, Thomas Cummings, Samuel French, 
Daniel Galusha, William Harwood, Joseph Hasscll, John 
Lovewell, t Thomas Lund, Robert Parris, Mr. Samuel Scarles, 

* See Massachusetts State Archives, Vol. CVII, p. 242 ; see also Butler's 
History of Groton, p. 246. 

t Father of Capt. John Lovewell, the famous Indian fighter, and also of Col. 
Zaccheus Lovewell, who served in the old French War. He is said, but not on 
good authority, to have been an ensign in Cromwell's army about 1653, and to 
have died about 1754, at the remarkable age of one hundred and twenty years. 
He is known to have served in King Philip's War, but I find no proof of his having 
lived one hundred and twenty years. He was a good man, and was intrusted 
with many town offices. When or where he was born, or where buried, I have 
not been able to ascertain. — See Kidder's Expeditions of Capt. John LoitujcU, 
p. 89. 



1^02] ^ GARRISON ESTABLISHED. 23 

John Sollendine, Major Jonathan Tyng, Robert Usher, Mr. 
Thomas Weld, and Mr. Samuel Whiting.* 

In point of population Dunstable was at this time the 
smallest town in the province, and but for the indomitable 
perseverance and courage of Major Jonathan Tyng, Lieut. 
Samuel French, John Lovewell, Samuel Whiting, and the 
Rev. Mr, Weld, must have been again abandoned. 

In 1702 the town was called to deplore the loss of its hon- 
ored pastor, the Rev. Thomas Weld, who died on the ninth 
day of June, and was buried in the old cemetery near his 
church. His first wife, Elizabeth, is buried beside him, and a 
rude, flat stone, placed above her grave, bears this inscription : 
" Here Lyeth the body of Mrs. Elizabeth Weld, the wife of 
Mr. Thomas Weld, aged about 31 years, who died on July the 
29th, in the year 1687." A similar stone, without any inscrip- 
tion, lies over the remains of the Rev. Mr. Weld. There is 
no proof that he was killed, as Mr. John Farmer in his 
Gazetteer has asserted, by the Indians. Mr. Weld was noted 
for his piety, and highly respected by his people. He married, 
for his second wife. Widow Hannah Savage, daughter of the 
Hon. Edward Tyng. His son, Habijah Savage Weld, born in 
September, 1702, H. C. 1723, was ordained in Attleborough 
in 1727, and died in that town in 1782, at the age of eighty 
years. His mother, Hannah Savage Weld, died at his house 
in 173 1. 

King William's War, closed by the treaty of Rysvvick in 
1698, was followed by a brief interval of peace ; but desirous 
of sustaining the cause of Charles Stuart, the Pretender, Louis 
XIV again became embroiled with England, and what was 
called " Queen Anne's War" commenced in 1702, and con- 
tinued ten years, involving the colonists in rnany sanguinary 
conflicts with the Indians, who, as usual, took part with the 
French. Another garrison was established for the defence 
of Dunstable, and manned Dec. 25, 1702, by the following 
soldiers, viz. : " William Tyng, Lieutenant, John Bowers, Ser- 



* His father, the Rev. vSamuel Whiting, of Billerica, had received from his 
father, the Rev. Samuel Whiting, of Lynn, an extensive tract of land in Dunsta- 
ble, and this was probably the reason of his coming to live in the town. T/l* j ;/<. v5^^ 



34 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. . [1704 

geant, Joseph Butterfield, Drummer, John Spalding, John 
Cummings, Joseph Hassell, Ebenezer Spalding, Daniel Galu- 
sha, Paul Fletcher, Samuel French, Thomas Lund, Jonathan 
Tyng, Lieut.-Colonel." 

During the month of August, 1703, the French and Indians 
assaulted various settlements along the northeastern frontier, 
and either killed or led into captivity more than two hundred 
people. In consequence of these aggressions the government 
offered a reward of £,Ap for every Indian scalp brought in. 
Capt. John Tyng, with a small band of followers, proceeded to 
Pequawket, through the deep snows of winter in 1703-4, and 
succeeded in obtaining five scalps, for which he received ^200. 
He was the oldest son of the brave Col. Jonathan Tyng, and 
had grown up in immediate contact with the Indians, and in 
August, 1 710, was waylaid and killed by them. 

In the early part of this war Mr. Robert Parris, his wife and 
oldest daughter, were massacred by the enemy. His two 
other daughters escaped by creeping into a hogshead in the 
cellar and remaining quietly concealed until the savages had 
left the house. One of them afterwards married Mr. Goffe, 
father of the celebrated Col. John Goffe.* 

On the 3d of November, 1704, the sum of ^24 was ordered 
by the General Court to Jonathan Tyng, P2sq., for building 
four block houses on the Merrimack River, "one in Billerica, 
two in Chelmsford, and one in Dunstable." f 

In a petition of William Tyng to the General Court, Nov. 
1 8, 1 704, he says : — 

"That just before the Mi.schief was done at Lancaster yor Petitioner 
was in Boston & by his Excellency was ordered down forthwith to his 
Post, to go by Dunstable & thence to Lancaster which yo"" Petitioner 
accordingly did, and rode thither upon his own Horse which he turned 
into a pasture there, & the next morning the Horse was by the Indians 
taken out of the said pasture & driven into the woods where they killed & 
ate the s^ Horse. And farther yor Petitioner showeth that one John 
Spalding who was a soldier under his command was killed in that action, 
& his gun taken by the Indians, & he being a very good soldier (tho' a 
youth) & the gun being his ffathers who is very poor — yor Petitioner 
therefore humbly prays this great & General Assembly to take the prem- 

* Farmer and Moore's Historical Collections, p. 306. 
t Massachusetts Archives, Vol. LXXI, p. 83. 



1706] ^ SURPRISE. 35 

ises into consideration & that he may have such satisfaction & recompents 

made him for the loss of his Horse and the ffather of the young man for 

the loss of his Gun as this great & Generous Assembly shall Deem meet, 

— and yoi" Petitioner shall ever pray. 

"Wm. Tyng." 

He petitioned the Court again, June 26, 1705, for pay for 
expenses of his march to Norridgewock the preceding winter, 
where he lost several men, among whom was Eleazer Parker, 
who left a widow and several children.* 

Among those taken captive in this war were Richard Has- 
sell, son of Joseph Hassell, Samuel Butterfield.f who was 
cruelly treated, and who killed one of the Indians after being 
captured, and Samuel Whiting, son of the Rev Samuel Whit- 
ing, of Billerica. He made his escape from Canada, whither 
he had been carried, and in consequence of wounds and suffer- 
ings, received in June, 17 13, a grant of ;^ 10 from the Assembly, 

On the night of the 3d of July, 1706, a party of two hundred 
and seventy Mohawk Indians suddenly assaulted a garrison 
house, J in which Capt. Pearson, of Rowley, and twenty of his 
" troopers," who had been ranging the woods, were posted. 
The company was taken by surprise, for the door had been 
left open and no watch appointed. Mr. Curnmings and his 
wife, it is said, had gone out at the close of the day for milk- 
ing, when the Indians shot Mrs. Cummings dead, wounded 

* See Massachusetts Archives. 

t John Shepley, of Groton, petitioned the General Court, Oct. 25, 1704, for some 
compensation for kilHiig an Indian from a party of about twenty, who, taking 
advantage of the absence of the troops, made an assault upon some men who 
were reaping or warding in a field at Groton. In his petition Mr. Shepley says : 
" The sd Indians made several shott at the English, but amongst the rest, one 
lusty stout Indian with a Holland shirt on ran about 8 or 10 Rodd side by side 
with yr Petitioner & the other 3 men in his company, about 10 Rodd to the right 
hand of them when he upon us, and as soon as he had fired yor Petitioner fired, 
being loaded with a slugg & another of the company at the same time fired a bullet 
at him whereupon the sd Indian fell down and cryd out : Those men 3 of our first 
Company killed or carryd away. Afterwards ye sd Indian was found dead & a 
slugg & liullet in his Body, his scalp being sent up to his Excellency by Major 
Taylor." 

•The General Court, Oct. 27, 1704, granted £^ to John Shepley, and the same 
sum to Samuel Butterfield, " who, this House is informed, did assist in the killing 
•of the Indian mentioned in the petition." (Massachusetts Archives, XXX, 496, 497.) 

X Probably that of John Cummings, which stood on the right hand of the road 
'rom Dunstable to Tyngsborough, about one half-mile from the former place. 



36 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1706 

her husband and took him captive. Rushing into the house, 
they were amazed to find it filled with soldiers, as these in 
turn were astonished to see themselves thus suddenly in the 
presence of the savages. After a bloody fight, during which 
several of Capt. Pearson's men were either killed or wounded, 
the savages attacked and burned the house of Daniel Galusha, 
a Dutchman, living on Salmon Brook, Here one woman was 
killed, and another made her escape from the flames by loosen- 
ing the stones around a small window, pressing herself through 
it, and concealing herself in the underbrush until the enemy 
had withdrawn. It appears, also, that a party of these Indians 
on the same fatal day entered the garrison house of Nathaniel 
Blanchard, and murdered himself, his wife Lydia, his daughter 
Susannah, and also Mrs. Hannah Blanchard. These tragic 
events are but thus briefly noticed in the records of the town : — 

"Nathaniel Blanchard dyed on July the 3rd at night, 1706. Lydia 
Blanchard, wife of Nathaniel Blanchard, and Susannah Blanchard, 
daughter of Nath'l Blanchard, dyed on July 3rd at night in the year 1706. 
Mrs. Hannah Blanchard dyed on July the 3rd at night in the year 1706. 
Goody Cummings, the wife of John Cummings, dyed on July the 3rd at 
night. Rachael Galusha died on July the 3d, 1706." 

What terrible days and nights were these ! The Rev. John 
Pike, of Dover, wrote in his journal, " The whole number said 
to have been slain in Dunstable at this time was nine persons." 

The celebrated Joe English was shot by the enemy near 
Holden's Brook on the 27th of July of the same year. He 
and another soldier were acting a,s a guard to Capt. Butterfield 
and his wife, who were making a journey through what is 
now Tyngsborough. The Indians shot the liorse on which 
these people were riding, and then taking Mrs. Butterfield 
captive, while her husband made his escape, pursued Joe 
English, firing upon him as he attempted to gain a woody 
covert until he fell, wounded and exhausted, into their unpity- 
ing hands. Knowing the exquisite torture to which they 
would subject him, he at once provoked them by some taunt- 
ing words to anger, when they immediately despatched him 
with their tomahawks. His widow and two children received a 
grant of money from the government because " he died in the 
service of his country." He was daring, intelligent, of manly 



I/II] 



HOUSES FORTIFIED. 



37 



bearing;, and always faithful to the English people. His grand- 
father was Masconnomet, Sagamore of Agawam, now Ipswich. 

During this long, and, to the colonists, exhausting war, the 
few families of Dunstable lived in garrison houses ; that is, 
dwelling-houses surrounded with palisades, or with a wall of 
stone or timber rising to the roof Through this wall there 
was a gate made of plank and secured with iron bolts. Port- 
holes were made in various places, and the underbrush was 
cleared away from the vicinity of the garrison in order that 
the approach of the enemy might be seen. 

Ensign Farwell, Thomas Ilund, and Joseph Blanchard, se- 
lectmen in 1 710, petitioned the Assembly for aid in supporting 
the ministry; and in 171 1, the selectmen, Joseph Farwell, 
John Cummings, and Joseph Blanchard, received £^\o from the 
Assembly towards the payment of the salary of Mr. Parris.* 

In the year 171 1 there were seven fortified houses in Dun- 
stable, and they were named as follows : — f 









CO 


I 


1. Col. Jonathan Tyng's .... 

2. Mr. Henry Farwell's .... 

3. Mr. John Cummings's .... 

4. Col. Samuel Whiting's . . . 

5. Mr. Thomas Lund's .... 

6. Queen's Garrison 

7. Mr. John Sollendine's .... 

Total 


I 

3 
2 

3 
I 
2 
I 


I 

3 


I 



6 

2 
I 

4 

4 


8 

28 
21 

8 

21 


13 


7 


19 


86 



The people, now reduced to this small number, lived in con- 
stant dread of the lurking and insidious foe. They spent 
much of their time shut up in the garrisons, and but little 
improvement was made in the aspect of the town. They 

* Massachusetts Archives, Vol. IT, p. 326. 
t See Massachusetts Records, Military, 17 11. 



■^8 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l/lS 

dressed in plain garments of their own making ; they Hved on 
frugal fare, and had but slender opportunity for the cultivation 
of their minds. They carried the loaded musket with them as 
they ventured forth to labor in the fields ; they carried it with 
them to the church. They had but little time for tillage, but 
little land in tilth ; their crops were consequently very slen- 
der, and they themselves most sadly destitute of the common 
supplies of life. Had not fish, game, nuts, and berries been 
abundant, they must have been compelled to relinquish the 
lands which had been granted to them and to return into the 
older settlements. 

But peace was at length insured by the treaty of Utrecht, 
April II, 1713 ; the doors of the garrisons at Dunstable were 
thrown open, and the hope of general prosperity began again 
to animate the breasts of the people. The town rapidly in- 
creased in numbers. Some of the large tracts of lands, origi- 
nally granted, were sold in sections for the accommodation 
of small farmers, and other inducements were held out for 
increasing the number of the inhabitants. 

At the time of the death of the Rev. Mr. Weld, the town 
was so reduced in respect to population as to be unable then 
to settle another minister. In a petition to the General 
Court, March 8, 1703-4, it is said that the inhabitants "can 
never hear a sermon without travelling more than twelve miles 
from their principal post." In answer to this petition, which 
was signed by Samuel Whiting, William Tyng, and Joseph 
Blanchard, selectmen, the Court granted ^20 towards the 
support of the ministry. The Rev. Samuel Hunt, H. C. 17CO, 
supplied the pulpit for many months, until April 23, 1707, 
when he was dismissed to go as chaplain to Port Royal. The 
Rev. Samuel Parris, in whose family the Salem witchcraft 
commenced by the accusation of Tituba in 1692, began to 
preach in Dunstable as early as Oct. i of the year ensuing 
and he remained here about four years. 

He was followed by the Rev. Amos Cheever, H. C. 1707^ 
who labored here at a salary of J[^Ap per annum from 171 3 to 
171 5 ; subsequent to this, a call was extended to the Rev. 
John Pierpont of Reading to settle at a salary of j[^Zo a year ; 
the Rev. Enoch Coffin, of Newbury, H. C. 1714, was then 



1723] ^ PERAMBULATION. 3'^ 

invited to become the pastor of the church, but he also 
declined the invitation. Thus one minister after another sup- 
pKed the pulpit at Dunstable until Aug. 20/ 1720, when the 
town gave a call to the Rev. Nathaniel Prentice, H. C. 17 14, 
to settle in the ministry with the same salary before offered to 
Mr. Coffin, and a "settlement" of ^ico. It was also voted, 
Dec. 8 of the same year, that after his marriage Mr. 
Prentice " should have a sufficient supply of wood, or ten 
pounds of passable money in lieu thereof yearly," He had at 
this time probably been ordained, and not long afterwards 
married Mary, daughter of Col. Jonathan Tyng. 

PERAMBULATION OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN DUNSTABLE AND 

DRACUT. 

Decembr In ye year 1723. 
Renewing the bounds between Dunstable and Dracut by order of the 
selectmen of Each town beginning at a pine tree on the North side of 
beaver Brook in Sight of s^ Brook being marked and lettered with E it 
being fallen down we have Laid stones about it from thence Running 
Southard by the old marked trees many of them Lettered w''' D D til we 
came Near to a place Called Stone Dam then Not finding the old bounds 
we agreed both parties to mark a pine w'^ stands on the East Side of 
beaver Brook four Rods from S^ Dam w^ tree is Lettered w'h D D and 
stands by it w'l fi'Sfi tree & Stone both parties a Greed to be a bound between 
Sd Towns from Sd bound tree Running Southward to a pine tree marked 
and Lettered D D So Running to a pine marked and stones about it Near 
to a pine tree w'' is called the Southeast angle of Henry Kimbles farm & 
from Sd pine tree we Renej|^ the old bounds to Long pond then Run- 
ning by the pond Part of the" way to an oak tree then the Sd bound Lost 
both Comittyes a Greed upon a Line off marked trees Crag Rock to be 
the bounds between Sd towns wh trees are lettered wt'i D. D. and then we 
Renewed the old bounds to marrimac River this is our mutual agreement 
that the Sd lines shall stand good for Ever and it is a Greed that the bounds 
w'l is mentioned shall be entered in Dunstable & Dracut Town Books. 

Joseph Blanchakd 

his 

Joseph X Butterfield. 

mark. 

Being the major part of the Comity of the Town of Dunstable 
appointed for sd work. 



Being the whole of the Comity of Dracut. 



Thos. Varnum. 
Joseph Varnum. 
Saml Coi.burn. 

Samuel Danforth, 

Surveyor, 



40 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1724 



CHAPTER IV. 

Indian Hostilities renewed. — Destruction of the Company of Lieut. 
Ebenezer French. — A Curious Epitaph. — A Bounty for Indian 
Scalps. — Capt. John Lovewell's First Expedition. — His Second 
Expedition. — Extract from his Journal. — His Last Expedition. — 
His Men establish a Small Fort at Ossipee Lake. — His En- 
counter with Paugus at Pequawket. — The Battle. — Lovewell 
AND Paugus killed. — En. Seth. Wyman. — Jonathan Robbins and 
Others left on the Field. — Return of the Survivors. — Col. 
Eleazar Tyng visits the Scene of Action and buries the Bodfes 
of the Slain. — Bounty paid to Soldiers and their Families. — 
Character of Capt. Lovewell. — Discourse of the Rev. Thomas 
Symmes of Bradford. — The Famous Ballad of Capt. Lovewell's 
Fight. — Stanzas by the Late T. C. Upham. — Result of Peace on 
Dunstable. — Division of the Town. — Sections set off to Lon- 
donderry AND TOWNSEND. — NOTTINGHAM. — LITCHFIELD. — MERRI- 
MACK. — Death of Mr. Prentice. — Settlement of Rev. Josiah Swan. 
— HoLLis. — The Boundary Line between Massachusetts and New 
Hampshire established. 

" From Indian wars this colony suffered more than any of her sisters." 

Salma Hale. 

" Old men shall shake the heapind say, 
' Sad was the hour and terrible 
When Lovewell brave 'gainst Paugus went 
With fifty men from Dunstable.' " 

Thomas C. Upham. 

Instigated by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor of 
Canada, and the celebrated Jesuit, Sebastian Rale, whose 
headquarters were at Norridgewock, the Indians continued to 
commit depredations on the frontier settlements of Maine and 
New Hampshire ; nor did the killing of Rale and the seven 
chiefs endeavoring to protect him (Aug. 12, 1724) serve in any- 
way to repress the danger. Anxiety and fear prevailed in 
every family along the border, the garrisons were strength- 
ened, and scouting parties sent out to clear the wilderness of 



1^24] PETITION OF JOSIAH FAR WELL. 41 

the wily foe. A company under Lieut. Jabez Fairbanks of 
Groton, having in it Joseph Blanchard, Ebenezer Cummings, 
Jonathan Coombs, Thomas Lund, Isaac Farwell, and John 
Usher, of Dunstable, spent the early part of the year 1724 in 
searching for the enemy on Nashua River, Nissitisset Hills, 
now a part of Pepperell, at the Mine Falls,* Naticook, and 
other suspected places in the neighborhood. 

On the 4th of September a party of French and of Mohawk 
Indians came to Dunstable and carried into captivity Nathan 
Cross and Thomas Blanchard, whom they found employed in 
getting turpentine in the pine forest along the northerly mar- 
gin of the Nashua River. A party of ten men or more, under 
command of Lieut. Ebenezer French, whose farm was on 
the easterly side of Nutting's Hill, at once proceeded in pursuit 
of them. One of the company, Josiah Farwell, an old Indian 
hunter, who had married Hannah, sister of John Lovewell, 
warned the leader to beware of falling into an ambuscade ; 
but he, too venturesome, replied, " I am going to take the 
direct path. If any of you are not afraid, follow me !" 

They followed him, and on arriving at what is now Thorn- 
ton's Ferry on the Merrimack River, they were waylaid, fired 
upon by the treacherous enemy, and all the party, excepting 
Mr. Farwell, who had concealed himself in a clump of bushes, 
were either killed upon the spot or taken captives. Judge 
Samuel Penhallow gives -the following version of the afitair : — 

"Sept. 4th, the Indians fell on Dunstable and took two in the evening. 
Next morning, Lieut. French with 14 men went in quest of them ; but being 
waylaid, both he and one half of his men were destroyed. After <hat, as 
many more of a fresh company engaged them ; but the enemy being much 
superior in number, overpowered them with the loss of one man and four 
wounded." 

In a petition of Josiah Farwell, on the records of the prov- 
ince, another account is given : — 

" Nov. II, 1724, Josiah Farwell says he was among the ten who were 
ambushed by the Indians, that many of the English were killed, the 



* So called because lead ore had been discovered in this vicinity anterior to 
1682, when the " Mine Islands " were laid out to Hezckiah Usher. 



42 HISTORY OF DUA STABLE. [1724 

rest were overpowered and forced to fly, that he lost his gun, coat and 
three pounds in money, and prays an allowance, he thinks they killed some 
of the enemy, he was allowed ^5." 

The bodies of eight of those killed were recovered, and 
buried in one grave. The names of seven are given in the 
Boston Neivs Letter as follows : Lieut. Eben-ezer French, 
Thomas Lund, Oliver Farwell, and Ebenezer Cummings, of 
Dunstable, Daniel Baldwin and John Burbank of Woburn, 
and Mr. Johnson of Plainfield. The name of the other man 
was Benjamin Carter. Four rude headstones in the old ceme- 
tery at Little's Station, not far north of the State line, com- 
memorate the sad event. 

On visiting this sacred enclosure some time since, which I 
found to be well enclosed but covered in part with pine-trees 
and wild shrubbery, I copied the following quaint inscrip- 
tion : — 

" Memento mori. Here lies the body of Mr. Thomas Lund who de- 
parted this life, Sept. 5, 1724, in the 42^ year of his age. This man with 
seven more that lies in this grave was slew all in a day by the Indians." 

Beside this memorial stone are three others bearing the 
same date and the names respectively of Mr. l^enjamin Car- 
ter, aged twenty-three years, Mr. Ebenezer Cummings, aged 
twenty-nine years, and Lieut, Oliver Farwell, aged thirty-three 
years. 

After remaining some time in Canada and enduring many 
hardships, the captives, Nathan Cross and Thomas Blanchard, 
together with William Lund who had been taken captive in 
1724, effected their redemption, and returned rejoicing to 
Dunstable. 

Under such aggravating acts of Indian barbarity, it was 
deemed advisable to carry on the war more vigorously, and to 
this end bounties for scalps were again offered by the govern- 
ment and volunteer companies organized. 

In answer to a petition of John Lovewell, Josiah Farwell, 
and Jonathan Robbins, all of whom were well skilled in 
Indian warfare, it was voted by the General Court, Nov. 17, 
1724, " that they may be allowed two shillings and sixpence 



JJ725] CAPT. LOVEWELUS JOURNAL. 43 

per diem each, and also the sum of ^100* for each male 
scalp." 

Immediately after the decision of the Assembly, Lovewell 
raised a company! of thirty men, of which he was commis- 
sioned captain, and commenced an expedition into the wil- 
derness. On the loth of November his lieutenant, Josiah 
Farwell, received at Haverhill " four hundred and eighty- 
seven pound and one-half of good bread " for the use of the 
soldiers, and on the 19th of December they fell upon an 
Indian trail about forty-four miles above " Winnepisockee 
Pond." They soon came up to a wigwam, where they killed 
and scalped an Indian, and took a boy, about fifteen years old, 
captive. With these trophies they returned to Boston, when 
" the lieutenant-governor and council were pleased to give 
them," says the News Letter of Jan. 7, 1725, " ^50 over and 
above ;^I50 allowed them by law." 

Encouraged by this success, the gallant Lovewell soon raised 
another volunteer company of eighty-eight men, among whom 
were his brother Zaccheus Lovewell, Thomas Colburn, Peter 
Powers, Josiah Cummings, Henry Farwell, William Ayers, 
Samuel Fletcher, and others, of Dunstable, and on the 30th of 
January, 1724-5, set forth on a second expedition against the 
enemy. 

In this journey he came up with the Indians near a pond, 
since known as Lovewell's Pond, at the head of one of the 
branches of Salmon Falls River, now in the town of Wake- 
field, N. H., killed the whole party, ten in all, and returning, 
entered Boston, with the scalps stretched on poles, and claimed 
the bounty. 

In his journal of the expedition Capt. Lovewell, under date 
of P'eb. 20, says : — 

"We Travelled about 5 miles & came upon a Wigwam that the Indians 
had lately gone from, & then we pursued their tracks 2 miles further, & 
discovered their smokes, and there tarried till about 2 o'clock in the 

* The pound was then worth about 5'-36, according to our present mode of 
reckoning. 

t He, or Jonathan Tyng, was probably the originator of the volunteer system 
in this State, men having hitherto been raised only by draft or impressment, as it 
was sometimes denominated. 



44 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1725 

morning, & then came upon their Wigwams & killed Ten Indian Men, 
which were all that were there, & not one escaped alive." 

"During the march," says Penhallow, "our men were well 
entertained with moose, bear, and deer, together with salmon 
trout, some of which were three feet long and weighed twelve 
pounds apiece." 

On the fifteenth day of April, 1725, the intrepid Lovewe^l, 
at the head of a well-armed band of forty-seven men, of 
whom some had shared the dangers of his first expedition, 
left Dunstable with the intention of attacking the Pequaw- 
kets,* under the noted sachem Paugus, whose headquarters 
were in a charming valley on the Saco River, in what is now 
the town of Fryeburg, Me. The distance was more than two 
hundred miles and the country to be traversed a dreary wil- 
derness, with only here and there an Indian trail or the track 
of a beast of prey. Such an adventure demanded men inured 
to hardship, fond of daring exploits, fearless of peril, and such 
indeed Lovewell and his comrades were. As given by the 
Rev. Thomas Symmes, their names were Capt. John Love- 
well, Lieut. Josiah Farwell, Lieut. Jonathan Robbins, Ensign 
John Harwood, Sergeant Noah Johnson, Robert Usher, 
Samuel Whiting, Benjamin Hassell (purposely omitted by Mr. 
Symmes), William Cummings.f and Toby (a Mohawk Indian),! 
of Dunstable ; Ensign Seth Wyman, Corp. Thomas Richard- 
son, Timothy Richardson, Ichabod Johnson, and Josiah 
Johnson, of Woburn ; Eleazer Davis, Josiah Davis, Josiah 
Jones, David Melvin, Eleazer Melvin, Jacob Farrah, and Joseph 
Farrah, of Concord ; Jonathan Frye, of Andover ; Sergt. Jacob 
Fullam, of Weston ; Corp. Edward Lingfield and Benjamin 
Kidder,! of Nutfield ; Jonathan Kittridge and Solomon Keyes, 
of Billerica ; John Jefts, Daniel Woods, Thomas Woods, John 
Chamberlain, Elias Barron, Isaac Lakin, and Joseph Gilson, 
of Groton ; Ebenezer Ayer and Abiel Astin, of Haverhill.J 

* The meaning of Pequawket is, according to Judge C. E. Potter, a " crooked 
place." 

t Not given by Mr. Symmes. 

\ Mr. Symmes does not give all the names. The number mentioned by the com- 
mittee on granting the land to the men subsequently, who probably had the roll 



1725] LOVEWELUS LAST FIGHT. 45 

After marching a short distance, Toby, a Mohawk Indian, 
falling lame, was obliged to return to the plantation. On 
arriving at Contocook, noted for the famous exploit of Mrs. 
Hannah Duston, William Cummings, of Dunstable, becoming 
disabled from a wound previously received from the Indians, 
was sent back in charge of one of his kinsmen. 

When the company arrived at the westerly margin of the 
Great Ossipee* Lake, Benjamin Kidder, becoming unable to 
proceed farther, Capt. Lovewell erected here a small stockade 
fort, in which he left the sick soldier, under the care of the 
surgeon, Dr. William Ayer, of Haverhill. He also detailed 
eight soldiers to remain as a reserve and a guard of the 
fort. 

Pressing onward with the rest of his company for about 
twenty miles, the heroic captain arrived, on the evening of the 
7th of May, at the northwesterly margin of a beautiful sheet 
of water, about two miles long and half a mile wide, since 
known as Lovewell's Pond, and silently encamped for the 
night. No trace of the enemy had yet been observed, and 
nothing but some confused noises in the distance, perhaps the 
howling of wolves, or Indian voices at the village of Pequawket, 
about two miles towards the west, caused any alarm ; but 
while engaged in their devotions about eight o'clock on the 
following morning (Saturday, May 8), they were startled by 
the report of a musket, which proceeded from the opposite 
shore of the pond. They then observed an Indian at the dis- 
tance of about a mile, standing on a point of land extending 
into the lake, and supposing that he was acting as a decoy to 
draw them into danger, held a consultation as to whether it 
were advisable for them to advance or to return. 

" We came out to meet the enemy," said the chaplain, young 
Jonathan Frye, of Andover, " we have all along prayed God 

of the company before them, was forty-seven. In his History of Miuichestcr, 
Judge Potter gives the names of those left in the fort at Ossipee as follows : 
Sergt. Nathaniel Woods, Ebenezer Hulbert, and Edward Spooney, of Dunstable ; 
Dr. William Ayer, of Haverhill; Benjamin Kidder and John Goffe, of Nutfield; 
John Gilson, of Groton; Isaac and Zachariah Whitney, of Concord ; and Zebediah 
Astin, of Haverhill. 

*The meaning of this Indian word is said to be "the river of the pines." 



46 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1725 

that we might find them, and we had rather trust Providence 
with our lives — yea, die for our country — than try to return 
without seeing them, if we may, and be called cowards for our 
pains." 

Complying with this request, Capt. Lovewell ordered his 
men to move cautiously forward. Arriving soon at a smooth 
plain, with here and there a pine-tree, the men divested them- 
selves of their packs, which they piled up together, under the 
supposition that the main body of the enemy was in front of 
them. Having then proceeded through the forest for about a 
mile, they came suddenly upon the Indian hunter whom they 
had before descried upon the point of land across the lake. 
He was leisurely returning to his people with a couple of mus- 
kets and a brace of ducks upon his shoulder. Several guns 
were instantly discharged at him, when, replying, he seriously 
wounded Capt. Lovewell and Mr. Samuel Whiting with 
beaver shot. Ensign Seth Wyman, then firing, killed the 
Indian, and Chaplain Frye, assisted by another person, took 
off his scalp. 

The company then turned back, and moved along with their 
wounded leader towards the open spot where they had left 
their packs. But in the mean time Paugus, at the head of 
about eighty warriors, on their way home from an expedition 
down the Saco River, discovered the pile of packs, and judg- 
ing from the number that the English force was much less 
than his own, determined to engage in battle. He therefore 
placed his men in ambush and awaited the arrival of his foe. 
When Lovewell's company came up for their packs, the 
Indians rushed suddenly from their hiding-places, three or 
four deep, with their guns presented, as if supposing that 
their very numbers would induce the English to surrender; 
but they were disappointed. Bravely Capt. Lovewell's men 
advanced upon the savages until within a few yards' distance, 
when the combatants on both sides opened a destructive fire. 

The war-whoop mingled with the roar of musketry, and the 
scene of bloodshed was appalling. Many of the Indians fell, 
and Capt. Lovewell, with eight of his heroic band, was soon 
left dead upon the field. Three of his men were severely 



1725] P AUG us A AD JVYMAN. a-j 

wounded. Those killed upon the spot were Capt. John 
Lovewell and Ensign John Harwood, of Dunstable, Sergt. 
Jacob Fullam, of Weston, John Jefts and Ichabod Johnson, 
of Woburn, Daniel and Thomas Woods, of Groton, Josiah 
Davis, of Concord, and Jonathan Kittridge, of Billerica. The 
wounded were Lieut. Josiah Farwell, Lieut. Jonathan Robbins, 
and Robert Usher, of Dunstable.* 

Having met with such a fearful loss and being almost cir- 
cumvented by the enemy, the English, now under the com- 
mand of Ensign Seth Wyman, withdrew to the pond, which 
served to protect them in the rear, while on their right an 
unfordable stream, and on their left a rocky point in part 
defended them. Their front was also covered by a deep 
morass. In this fortunate position they bravely maintained 
themselves against the superior number of their enemies for 
the remainder of the day. About three o'clock in the after- 
noon the gallant Chaplain Frye was severely wounded. f 
The fight was rendered the more terrible by the fiendish 
yelling and the horrid grimaces of the Indians, who at one 
time held up ropes, inviting the English to surrender. They, 
however, pointing to the muzzles of their muskets, signified 
in reply that rather than to be taken captive they would fight 
to the bitter end. 

In the latter part of the engagement, Paugus, whose name 
signifies " Oak Tree," the long-dreaded chief of the Pequawkets, 
fell, and probably, as the ancient ballad states, by a shot from 
Ensign Wyman, though a popular tradition ascribes the 
exploit to John Chamberlain, of Groton. 

Standing near each other, and loading their pieces on the 
margin of the lake, it is said that Paugus, in the act of forcing 
down his ball, cried out to Wyman, " Me kill you quick ! " To 
whom the latter answered, " May be not ! " when his gun, 
priming itself, gave him in point of time the advantage, ena- 

* See the Rev. Thomas Symmes's narrative. 

t Son of Capt. James Frye, of Andover, II. C. 1723, and about twenty years of 
age at the time of his death. The beautiful town of Fryeburg, Me., perpetuates 
his name. An elm-tree, set out by him at the time of his departure from home, 
is still flourishing. 



48 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1/25 

bling him by a well-directed shot to lay the sachem weltering 
in his gore upon the strand.* 

Either from the loss of men or of their leader, want of 
ammunition, or some other cause, the Indians withdrew from 
the contest a little after sunset, removing most of their dead 
and all of their wounded from the field, and soon afterwards 
the men that remained of Lovewell's Spartan band, now desti- 
tute of powder and provisions, resolved to leave the fatal spot 
and make their way back, if possible, to the stockade fort on 
Lake Ossipce. But some of them had lost too much blood to 
undertake such a journey. Jacob Farrar was just expiring by 
the pond. Lieut. Jonathan Robbins, unable to proceed, 
desired that his gun might be loaded and laid beside him. 
" For," said he, " the Lidians will come in the morning to scalp 
me, and I '11 kill one more of them, if I can ! " Robert Usher, 
also of Dunstable, was too much exhausted to be removed 
from the spot. Leaving, then, regretfully these three dying 
companions, the rest of the men, of whom eleven had been 
wounded, started on their journey of more than twenty miles 
to the fort. Having travelled about a mile and a half, Chap- 
lain Frye, Lieut. Josiah Farwell, Eleazer Davis, and Josiah 
Jones gave their free consent to be left on the way, hoping 
that aid might be sent back to them, but the two former per- 
ished in the wilderness. Chaplain Frye, after travelling some 
distance, sunk under his wounds, telling his companions that 
he was dying, and that he should never rise more, at the same 
time " charging Davis," says Mr. Symmes, "if it should please 
God to bring him home, to go to his father, and tell him that 
he expected in a few hours to be in eternity, and that he was 
not afraid to die," Lieut. Farwell (b. Aug. 2"], 1698) died of 
exhaustion on the eleventh day after the fight. Davis, who was 
wounded in the body and had one thumb shot off, reached 
Berwick in a deplorable condition on the 27th of May ; and 
Jones came in at Saco, after wandering, with a severe wound 
in his body, fourteen days in the wilderness. On arriving at the 
fort, faint and famishing, the little party under Lieut. Wyman 

* See Kidder's Expeditions of Capt. John Loz-cxocll, p. 104 ; also Butler's Hislo?y 
of Groton, p. 104. 



1725] ESTATE OF CAPT. LOVE WELL. ^g 

had the grief to find the place abandoned, since at the very 
commencement of the fight, Benjamin Hassell, supposing all 
to be lost, had fled, and on reaching the fort had so intimi- 
dated the occupants that they all deserted it and made their 
way back as best they could, arriving on the nth of May at 
Dunstable. Ensign Wyman returned home* with his men on 
the 15th of May ; and on the 17th of the same month, Col. 
Eleazer Tyng, with a company of eighty-seven men, proceeded 
to the scene of conflict, and there found and buried the bodies 
of Capt. John Lovewell, Ensign Jonathan Robbins, Ensign John 
Harwood, Robert Usher, Sergt. Jacob Fullam, Jacob Farrar, 
Josiah Davis, Thomas Woods, Daniel Woods, John Jefts, 
Ichabod Johnson, and Jonathan Kittridge. He also dug up 
and identified the body of the brave Paugus. 

When Dr. Jeremy Belknap visited the scene of the action, 
he discovered the names of the fallen heroes which Col. Tyng 
had inscribed upon the trees, and also the holes from which 
he had taken bullets. 

For the defence of Dunstable during the absence of Col. 
Tyng, Col. Flagg was ordered to detach from his regiment 
" a sergeant and twelve effective, able-bodied men, well armed 
for his Majesty's service, for the security and reinforcement of 
Dunstable until the return of Col. Tyng and his company. 
They must be posted at the garrisons of Joseph Bloghead 
[Blodgett], Nathaniel Hill, John Taylour, and John Lovewell, 
and three sentinels in each garrison, and the sergeant in that 
of the four that is nearest the centre. Boston, May 19, 

1725-" 

Capt. Lovewell was the son of John Lovewell, and was 
born in Dunstable, Oct. 14, 1691. He married Hannah 

by whom he had three children : John, born June 30, 1718 ; 
Hannah, born July 24, 1721; and Nehemiah, born Jan. 9, 1726. 
An inventory of his real and personal estate may be seen in 
Kidder's Expeditions of Capt. John Lovewell, p. 93. His 

* Soon after his return he was presented with a captain's commission and a 
silver-hilted sword. He raised a company, and died soon afterwards while scout- 
ing for the enemy above Dunstable. The court presented his widow, 7ice Sarah 
Ross of Billerica, the sum of twenty pounds sterling. 
4 



50 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1726 

lands and meadows, in all about two hundred acres, and the 
buildings thereon, together with the half part of a saw-mill, 
were estimated at ^420. In answer to a petition of Hannah 
Lovewell to the General Court, June 8, 1726, " it was resolved 
that fifty pounds be paid to Capt. Henry Farwell and Col. E. 
Tyng with which to discharge the claims against the estate of 
the late Capt. Lovewell." Fifteen hundred pounds were 
granted to the widows and children of the deceased soldiers, 
and in consideration of the services of Capt. Lovewell and his 
brave associates, the General Court also (Aug. 7, 1728) 
granted to them and to the legal representatives of such as 
had deceased, " a township of six miles square, lying on both 
sides of Merrimack River." This tract of land, then called 
Suncook and afterwards Lovewell's Town, was " to commence 
where Pennicook grant terminated." It is now the town 
of Pembroke, N. H. Capt. Lovewell lived on the margin of 
Salmon Brook, on which he and his father had a saw-mill. It 
was voted by the town, Sept. 2, 171 8, " that they should have 
liberty to build a dam in the highway " over that brook, and 
the mill was subsequently established. The powder-horn 
which the hero of Pequawket used in the fight is still pre- 
served by one of his descendants. 

Capt. Lovewell was brave, adventurous, and persistent. 
He died with his gun loaded and pointed towards the foe. 
His blood was not spilled in vain. The action at Pequawket 
closed the war, and insured tranquillity. A treaty of peace 
was soon made with the different Indian tribes, and the 
Pequavvkets, under their leader Adcawanda, removed to 
Canada. 

The following letter (Massachusetts Archives, LXXII, 
263), addressed to Col. Tyng, indicates the feeling of security 
which prevailed : — 

" Sir, — The enemy being drawn off & the season of Danger pretty 
well over, you must forthwith see that the soldiers in the Frontiers be 
reduced to the following Numbers ; viz., Twenty-five Men at Dunstable 
& Dracut, Ten at Turkey Hills, Fourteen at Groton, Fourteen at Lan- 
caster, Twenty-five at Rutland, & ten at Brookfield & That all the rest of 
the Soldiers in the Counties of Middlesex and Essex, Includins: Lieut. 



1725] AN ANCIENT BALLAD. 5 1 

Brentnal's scouts be forthwith disbanded. And the several officers are 
required to put these orders in execution accordingly." 

The name of Lovevvell at once became famous. The story 
of his exploits was rehearsed in every dwelling, and even in 
the pulpits of the country. As early as the i6th of May, 1725, 
the Rev. Thomas Symmes, V. D. M., of Bradford, preached a 
sermon " occasioned by the fall of the brave Capt. John Love- 
well and several of his valiant company in the late heroic 
action." The Historical Memoirs prefixed to this sermon 
contain, perhaps, the best account of the fight that has been 
transmitted to us. A very mournful ballad, said by John 
Farmer to have been written soon after the tragic event 
occurred, embodies the chief incidents of the fight, and is one 
of the few compositions of the kind that have floated down to 
us from our forefathers. It was for a long period the most 
popular song in the colonies. It is to be regretted that 
neither the name of the author, nor the music to which the 
words were adapted and so often sung in winter evenings by 
" the old folks at home," has been preserved. 



THE BALLAD OF CAPT. JOHN LOVEWELL'S FIGHT, AT PEQUAWKET. 



Of worthy Capt. Lovewell I jDurpose now to sing, 
How valiantly he served his country and his king : 
He and his valiant soldiers did range the woods full wide, 
And hardships they endured to quell the Indians' pride. 

II. 

'T was nigh unto Pigwacket, on the eighth day of May, 
They spied a rebel Indian, soon after break of day. 
He on a bank was walking, upon a neck of land 
Which leads into a pond, as we 're made to understand. 

III. 
Our men resolved to have him, and travelled two miles round. 
Until they met the Indian, who boldly stood his ground. 
Then speaks up Capt. Lovewell, " Take you good heed," says he, 
" This rogue is to decoy us, I very plainly see. 



5 2 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l/^S 



IV. 



" The Indians lie in ambush, in some place nigh at hand, 
In order to surround us upon this neck of land ; 
Therefore we '11 march in order, and each man leave his pack, 
That we may briskly fight them when they shall us attack." 



They come unto the Indian who did them thus defy; 
As soon as they come nigh him, two guns he did let fly. 
Which wounded Capt. Lovewell and likewise one man* more ; 
But when this rogue was running, they laid him in his gore. 

vr. 

Then, having scalped the Indian, they went back to the spot 
Where they had laid their packs down, but there they found them not ; 
For the Indians, having spied them when they them down did lay, 
Did seize them for their plunder, and carry them away. 

VII. 

These rebels lay in ambush, this very place near by, 

So that an English soldier did one of them espy. 

And cried out, " Here 's an Indian ! " With that they started out 

As fiercely as old lions, and hideously did shout. 

VIII. 

With that our valiant English all gave a loud huzza, 
To show the rebel Indians they feared them not a straw. 
So now the fight began as fiercely as could be. 
The Indians ran up to them, but soon were forced to flee. 

IX. 

Then spake up Capt. Lovewell, when first the fight began, 
" Fight on, my valiant heroes, you see they fall like rain ! " 
For, as we are informed, the Indians were so thick, 
A man could scarcely fire a gun, and not some of them hit. 



Then did the rebels try their best our soldiers to surround. 
But they could not accomplish it, because there was a pond, 
To which our men retreated and covered all the rear. 
The rogues were forced to flee them, although they skulked for fear. 

* Lieut. Josiah Farwell, of Dunstable. 



1725J ^^' ANCIENT BALLAD. 53 



Two logs that were behind them so close together lay, 
Without being discovered they could not get away ; 
Therefore, our valiant English, they travelled in a row, 
And at a handsome distance, as they were wont to go. 

XII. 
'T was ten o'clock in the morning when first the fight begun, 
And fiercely did continue till the setting of the sun. 
Excepting that the Indians, some hours before 'twas night. 
Drew off into the bushes and ceased awhile to fight. 

XIII. 

But soon again returned, in fierce and furious mood. 
Shouting as in the morning, but yet not half so loud ; 
For, as we are informed, so thick and fast they fell, 
Scarce twenty of their number at night did get home well. 

XIV. 
And that our valiant English till midnight there did stay, 
To see whether the rebels would have another fray ; 
But they no more returning, they made off to their home. 
And brought away their wounded as far as they could come. 

XV. 

Of all our valiant English there were but thirty-four. 

And of the rebel Indians there were about fourscore. 

And sixteen of our English did safely home return -, 

The rest were killed and wounded, for which we all must mourn. 



Our worthy Capt. Lovewell among them there did die ; 
They killed Lieut. Robbins* and wounded good young Frye,t 
Who was our English chaplain ; he many Indians slew. 
And some of them he scalped, when bullets round him flew. 

XVII. 

Young Fullam, % too, I '11 mention, because he fought so well ; 
Endeavoring to save a man, a sacrifice he fell. 

* Lieut. Jonathan Robbins was a native of Chelmsford. He married Margaret 
Gould, and settled on Long Hill, Dunstable. 

t He died in the wilderness several days subsequent to the fight. 

X Sergt. Jacob Fullam was of Weston. " One of the first that was killed," says 
John Farmer, " was by his right hand, and when ready to encounter a second sho 
it is said that he and his adversary fell at the very instant by each other's shot." 



54 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1725 

And yet our valiant Englishmen in fight were ne'er dismayed, 
But still they kept their motion, and Wyman captain made, — 

XVIII. 

Who shot the old chief Paugus,* which did the foe defeat, 
Then set his men in order and brought off the retreat ; 
And, braving many dangers and hardships by the way,* 
They safe arrived at Dunstable the thirteenth day of May. 

Another ballad, purporting to be ancient and commencing, — 

" What time the noble Lovewell came 
With fifty men from Dunstable," 

is of modern origin. 

The following graceful lines commemorating this tragical 
event are from the pen of the Rev. Thomas Cogswell Upham, 
D. D., born in Deerfield, N, H., Jan. 30, 1799. They were 
written in 1825 : — 

Ah ! where are the soldiers that fought here of yore ? 
The sod is upon them ; they 'II struggle no more. 
The hatchet is fallen, the red man is low ; 
But near him reposes the arm of his foe. 

The bugle is silent, the war-whoop is dead ; 
There 's a murmur of waters and woods in their stead ; 
And the raven and owl chant a symphony drear. 
From the dark, waving pines, o'er the combatants' bier. 

The light of the sun has just sunk in the wave, 
And a long time ago set the sun of the brave. 
The waters complain as they roll o'er the stones, 
And the rank grass encircles a few scattered bones. 

The names of the fallen the traveller leaves 

Cut out with his knife in the bark of the trees. 

But little avail his affectionate arts, 

For the names of the fallen are graved in our hearts. 

The voice of the hunter is loud on the breeze, 
There 's a dashing of waters, a rustling of trees ; 
But the jangling of armor hath all passed away ; 
No gushing of life-blood is here seen to-day. 



* Paugus was found and buried by Col. Tyng. 



1737] DISMEMBERMENT OF THE TOWN. 55 

The eye that was sparkling no longer is bright ; 
The arm of the mighty, Death conquered its might ; 
The bosoms that once for their country beat high, — 
To those bosoms the sods of the valley are nigh. 

Sleep, soldiers of merit ! Sleep, gallant of yore ! 
The hatchet is fallen, the struggle is o'er. 
While the fir-tree is green and the wind rolls a wave 
The tear-drop shall brighten the turf of the brave. 

* 

The occupation of the lands of the town consequent on the 
return of peace was rapid, families coming in from Chelms- 
ford, Billerica, Woburn, Concord, and other places, to secure 
homesteads in a locality so well stored with timber and so 
rich in pasturage. Roads were laid out to the distant settle- 
ments, fences were constructed, and orchards planted. The 
church was the principal institution, the meeting-house the 
main rallying-point of the people ; but it was soon found 
extremely inconvenient for those living in the remote parts of 
the town to assemble at the appointed place, and hence efforts 
were early made for a division of the territory. An area of 
two hundred square miles was evidently too extensive for the 
practical purposes of a church or a municipality, and so but 
little opposition was made against setting off" certain sections 
for the better accommodation of certain people." As early as 
June 21, 1721, a small corner in the northeast of Dunstable 
was incorporated with the town of Londonderry ; then on the 
29th of June, 1732, a section in the southwestern part went 
in to help make up Townsend. 

On the 4th of January, 1732-3, certain families, bearing the 
names of Blodgett, Cummings, Cross, Colburn, Greeley, Hill, 
Lovewell, Marsh, Merrill, Pollard, and Winn, who had com- 
menced a settlement on the easterly side of the Merrimack 
River as early as 1712, and were living in garrisoned houses, 
finding it inconvenient to attend church across the river, were 
incorporated into a town by the name of Nottingham. Com- 
ing into New Hampshire by the divisional line in 1741, the 
name was changed to Nottingham West, and that on the fst 
of July, 1830, to Hudson. The town contains an area of 
17,379 acres. A church was organized here Nov. 30, 1737, 



^6 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l734 

when the Rev. Nathaniel Merrill was ordained as pastor. He 
was succeeded in 1796 by the Rev. Jabez Pond Fisher, who 
preached for some time in Dunstable. 

In 1733 it was voted that the new meeting-house should b^e 
erected four rods west of where the old church was standing, 
but against this vote the following persons, living in the south- 
erly part of the town, protested : Andrew Foster, Jonathan 
Cummings, Thomas Frost, Ebenezer Proctor, Josiah Blodgett, 
Thomas Cummings, Samuel Taylor, Ebenezer Parkhurst, John 
Kendall, Ebenezer Butterfield, Nathaniel Cummings, John 
French, Jonathan Taylor, Jacob Kendall, Daniel Kendall, 
Abraham Taylor, Abraham Taylor, Jr., and Thomas Howard. 
Caleb Parker was allowed ;^io ^s, "for building a pound." 
William Blodgett, Capt. Henry Farwell, and Noah Johnson 
were chosen a committee to fix upon a site for the new meet- 
ing-house. 

The preparation of pitch and turpentine, of which the pri- 
meval forests of pine furnished large quantities, was long a 
source of revenue to the town. Such privileges as the follow- 
ing were occasionally granted. David Kendall, April 10, 1733, 
allows Samuel Taylor, for the sum of ^13 ^s. "to bled and 
chop and dress all y^ pine trees within a mile of y^ house of 
Ebenezer Proctor on y® land of said Proctor in Dunstable 
afore s^ in Brattles Farm so called " for turpentine and other 
purposes, until March 6, 1735. Witness Nathaniel Cummings, 
Jr., and Abraham Taylor, Jr. 

The excision of a part of the town of Dunstable to form 
Nottingham was followed by a still greater one in 1734, when 
the extensive tract called Naticook, and subsequently Brenton's 
Farm, was incorporated under the name of Litchfield. It was 
divided by the Merrimack River and originally settled by a 
few families from Billerica. Subsequently the section of the 
town west of the Merrimack River was incorporated under the 
name of Rumford, soon afterwards changed to Merrimack, 
which it still retains. 

William Cummings, 1734, received the sum of ^10 on 
account of being wounded by the Indians ; and about this 
time a party of men from Dunstable, who were out on a 



lyAl] "^^^ STATE LINE. 57 

hunting excursion on the frontiers, fell, with but two or three 
exceptions, by the hands of the savages. A man by the name 
of Whitney escaping, built him a hut and spent the winter in 
the wilderness. On the return of spring, Mr. Timothy Reed, 
born March 21, 17 14, who lived on the west side of Salmon 
Brook, and a few others, went in search of their lost townsmen. 
On approaching the hut of Whitney, and seeing something 
move among the bushes, Mr. Reed discharged his musket, and 
to his inexpressible horror found that he had killed one of his 
neighbors. His sorrow followed him to the grave.* 

The number of families in Dunstable in 1730 was about 
fifty, and £<^o were raised for the salary of Mr. Prentice, 
together with a small sum for the support of a " writing 
school." Mr. Prentice died Feb. 27, 1737, much lamented by 
his people. He was a good preacher, and his wife, who sur- 
vived him, was noted for her love of out-of-door exercise and 
of target-shooting, in which she sometimes bore away the 
prize. 

The Rev. Josiah Swan, H. C. 1733, was ordained over the 
church Dec. 27, 1738, and about this period a new church 
edifice, which stood near the old burial-place at Little's Station, 
was dedicated. Mr. Swan continued to preach in the new 
church until some time in 1746, when he resigned his pastorate, 
and subsequently became a noted school-teacher in Lancaster. 

In 1739, the westerly part of Dunstable, called by the 
Lidians Nissitissct, was incorporated with the title of " The 
West Parish of Dunstable," which soon afterwards became the 
town of Hollis The westerly part of Hollis was in 1769 
incorporated by the name of Raby, which was subsequently 
changed to that of Brookline. The town of Dunstable was 
thus gradually reduced in size until 1741, when, by the run- 
ning of the divisional line between the States of New Hamp- 
shire and Massachusetts, in regard to which a long and bitter 
controversy had been carried on, the above-mentioned towns, 
together with the territory that for some time bore the name 
of Dunstable, then Nashville, and which has since become the 

* See Reed Eamily, p. 1 56. 



^8 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l74I 

city of Nashua, were set off to the former State, leaving 
Dunstable proper, which then included Tyngsborough, in the 
State of Massachusetts. 

Omitting, then, farther notice of the parts exscinded from 
the original town of Dunstable, and making only an occasional 
reference to the town of Tyngsborough, I proceed according 
to the method I adopted for the writing of this history. 



/ 













^^ R nUQH 



6o HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE, [1873 



CHAPTER V. 

TOPOORAPHY OK DUNSTABLE. — ThE WaTER SUPPLY. — NASHUA RiVER. — 

Unquetynasset Brook. — Salmon Brook. — Howard's Brook. — 
Other Brooks. — Massapoag Pond. — The Gulf. — The Disruption 
OF the Dam. — Little Massapoag Pond. — Flat Rock Hill. — 
Blanchard's Hill. — Nutting's Hill. — Forest Hill and other 
Eminences. — Scenic Beauty of the Town. — Geology and Min- 
eralogy. — Slatestone. — Bowlders. — Iron Ore — Other Minerals. 
— Soil and Productions. — The Inhabitants. — Old Houses. 

" I never view the thriving villages of New England, which speak so 
forcibly to the heart of happiness and prosperity, without feeling a glow 
of national pride, as I say, ' This is my own, my native land ! ' " 

Mrs. L. M. Child. 

" How often have I paused on every charm ! 
The sheltered cot, the cultivated farm, 
The never-failing brook, the busy mill, 
Tlie decent church that topped the neighboring hill." 

Dr. Oliver Goldsmith. 

Topography. — The present town of Dunstable, incor- 
porated Oct. 16, 1673, is pleasantly situated in the northerly- 
part of Middlesex County, Mass., and has for its boundaries 
Nashua, N. H., by a straight line on the north, Tyngsborough, 
by a circuitous course on the east and southeast, the same 
and Groton on the south, and Pepperell, from which it is in 
part separated by the Nashua River, on the west. By the 
State trigonometrical survey, the church is in latitude 42° 40' 
27.96" north and in longitude 71° 29' 18.63" west. It is 
thirty-three miles northwest of Boston, ten miles northwest ot 
Lowell, and seven miles south of Nashua, N. H. 

The township is somewhat irregular in form, and embraces 
in all sixteen and thirteen thirty-seconds square miles, or 
10,500 acres of territory. This is divided into ninety farms, 
which are again subdivided by substantial stone or rail fences 



1873] WATER SUPPLY. 6 1 

into lots of convenient size for gardens, orchards, tillage, pas- 
turage, and woodland. 

Though for the most part broken and uneven, the land is 
almost all susceptible of cultivation, and presents an admirable 
variety of situation, hill and valley, upland and meadow, suited 
to the different needs and purposes of the husbandman. As 
indicated by the current of the streams, the general inclination 
of the surface of the land is towards the north. 

Water Supply. — The town is well supplied with water 
and has considerable hydraulic power. For about two miles 
and a quarter along the western border flows in a gentle cur- 
rent the beautiful Nashua* River, once the favorite resort of 
the aborigines. It was anciently called the " Watananock." 
It is on an average about twelve rods wide, and from three to 
fifteen feet deep. The water is clear and sweet, the banks of 
the stream are low and in the summer fringed with flowers. 
From Pepperell to Hollis the fall is about forty feet, and in 
the vicinity of Slatestone Hill it has been recently ascertained 
by actual survey that there is an excellent mill-privilege, at 
which a dam may be erected with a head of some twelve feet. 
This power will doubtless soon be utilized. A little steamboat 
has passed up this river from Hollis to Pepperell. 

Although the water of this fine stream now turns no mill 
in Dunstable, it still serves to decorate the landscape, and 
to supply the basket of the angler with the best of perch 
and pickerel ; while the intervals on the stream produce 
abundantly both hay and pasturage for the cattle of the 
husbandman. 

The chief tributary of Nashua River from Dunstable is 
Unquety, or as anciently called, Unquetynasset Brook, a 
pretty little trout and mill stream, that, rising near Chestnut 
Hill, in Groton, enters the southwestern angle of the town, 
where it forms a pond for a saw and stave mill, in the romantic 
village of Unquety, and, pursuing thence a northwesterly 
course through fertile meadows, reaches the Nashua River 
about a mile south of the State line. This meandering stream 

* The word " Nashua " signifies a " point of land at the confluence of two 
rivers." 



62 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

is Still the highway of the mink, muskrat, and otter from the 
Nashua River to the Massapoag Ponds. 

The central part of the town is well drained by the Salmon 
Brook, a valuable stream, well stored with fish, that, flowing 
from Massapoag Pond, pursues a northerly course through the 
Lower Massapoag Pond, and dividing the township nearly in 
the middle, empties into the Merrimack River, at what is 
called "The Harbor" in Nashua. It receives two tributaries 
from the west, one of which, called Barnes Brook, proceed- 
ing from a swamp in the southwest, furnishes motive-power 
for Mr. George Parkhurst's saw-mill, and the other, known 
from early times as Joint Grass Brook, after receiving 
the water of Spring Brook, turns the grist and saw mill of Mr. 
Daniel Swallow. 

Salmon Brook receives, also, an affluent named Black 
Brook from the east, which, on being augmented by two or 
three small streams, forms motive-power for Mr. James 
Woodward's grist and saw mill, near the centre of the town. 
There is a fine mill-privilege on the Salmon Brook, where it 
issues from Massapoag Pond at what is called " The Gulf," 
but the waters now roll uselessly over a dam of about ten 
feet in height. This famous brook, as its name, found in the 
earliest records, would imply, was once noted for its supply 
of salmon. It is navigable for small boats from " The Harbor " 
to the Great Massapoag Pond. Along its banks some of the 
original settlements of the whites were made, and from its 
fertile meadows their barns were well supplied with hay ; its 
current, as we shall hereafter see, was once along the valley 
of Black Brook. 

Howard's, sometimes called Kolden's Brook, rises in the 
northern base of Nutting's Hill, and by a devious course 
makes its way easterly into Tyngsborough, where it affords 
some motive-power, and then discharges its waters into 
Merrimack River. Its ancient name was Little Naacook, 
and a section of it near the Tyngsborough line is called 
Seven-Star Brook. One of its affluents, called Weld's 
Brook, perpetuates the name of the first minister of the town. 
A fine little stream, known as Blodgett's Brook, rises 



1S73] WATER SUPPLY. ^^ 

about a mile south of the source of Howard's Brook, and 
running southeasterly through a pleasant valley, becomes an 
affluent of Bridge Meadow, anciently Great Naacook, Brook, 
which reaches the Merrimack River at Tyngsborough Centre. 

A small tributary of the last-named brook rises on the 
easterly confines of the town, and, running along the boun- 
dary for about a mile, enters Tyngsborough a little to the 
southeast of Forest Hill. Another rivulet, rising in the town 
last mentioned, and called Sewall's Brook, flows westerly 
through a corner of Dunstable into Massapoag Pond. 

There are in all, then, as many as six mill-privileges within 
the limits of the town, — one on Nashua River, one on Salmon 
Brook, two on tributaries coming into it from the west, one on 
Black Brook, where a saw-mill was erected anterior to the 
Revolution, entering it from the east, and one on Unquety- 
nasset Brook at the pleasant village of that name. 

Massapoag,* called in a plan of John Tyng's land, 1692, 
Masshapeage Pond, having an area of more than one hun- 
dred acres, lies partly in Dunstable, Tyngsborough, and Gro- 
ton. It is formed by the waters of Cowpen Brook from Groton. 
A stone post upon an island in the westerly part of the pond 
indicates the boundary of these several towns.f This fine 
sheet of water, which originally was full of islands and had an 
area of more than six hundred acres, is enclosed by hills and 
headlands, affording many admirable scenic views. It is well 
stored with pickerel, perch, and bream, which, together with 
the wild fowl frequenting it, render it a favorite resort of the 
angler and the fowler. In former times the Indian built his 
wigwam on the margin of this fair lake, and furrowed its clear 
waters with his light birch canoe. When the English settlers 
arrived they found it teeming with salmon, shad, and alewives,$ 

* The meaning of the vvoi"d is " Great Pond." 

t In a plan of Gioton, made by Jonathan Danforth in 1668, the line of that town 
extended from Massapoag Pond northerly, by Edward Cowell's farm, Billerica 
land, and Boston farms to Buck Meadow, and thence two miles westerly to a 
point at the short turning of the Nashua River a little below the Nissitisset Hills. 
It gives about one half of the pond to Groton. 

I The Legislature passed a law Feb. 20, 1807, forbidding " any person whatever 
in the night-time to kill, take, or destroy any fish in the pond called Massapaug 



(54 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. | 1688 

which the dams on the Merrimack River long since pre- 
vented from ascending to this point. A few trout are still 
found in it, and now and then a chevin is drawn from its 
deep waters. 

The outlet of the pond, now on the north, and known as 
" The Gulf," is one of the most wild and romantic spots in 
Dunstable A natural embankment or dam, more than thirty 
feet in height and several rods wide, almost encloses the pond 
at this point, rendering it evident that the waters at an early- 
period were much higher than at present, and that they over- 
flowed a large extent of territory. This mound of earth, now 
covered with a heavy growth of oak and pine trees, some of 
which have been uprooted by a recent hurricane, bears the 
marks of a great inundation. The tradition is that in early 
times the outlet of the lake was on the east, and that the 
Salmon Brook, instead of issuing, as it now does, by a fall of 
some ten feet from the northern point of the pond at what is 
called " The Gulf, " started from an outlet at the point where 
Sewall's Brook, by a fall of about twenty feet, now enters the 
pond, and made its way by the valley of the Black Brook, 
which at present enters it about a mile southwest of the centre 
of the town. This view is confirmed by the earliest deeds of 
the land as well as by the plots of the pond. In a plan of Mr. 
John Tyng's farm, 1692, the outlet of the pond is on the east, 
at what is now called Sewall's Brook ; but as that brook at 
present falls into the pond by a descent of some twenty feet, it 
is evident that the lake, when discharging its waters at that 
point, must have been more than twenty feet higher than it 
now appears, and that it must have covered an area some five 
or six times larger than at the present period. The shore of 
the pond, as it originally existed, may in some places still be 
traced by the level strata of sand and pebble-stones along 
the hillsides. In early times Samuel Adams, probably a son 
of Capt. Samuel Adams, of Chelmsford, whose death occurred 
on the 24th of January, 1688, cut a channel through the 

Pond, lying between the towns of Dunstable, Groton, and Tyngsborough." under 
a penalty of fifty cents for each fish so taken. See Massachusetts Sixth Annual 
Report on Inland Fisheries, p. 96. 



i7oo] ''THE gulf:' 65 

natural dam at " The Gulf," and erected thereon the first grist- 
mill in the town of Dunstable. 

It is related that in the time of a great freshet Mr. Adams 
left his mill in charge of a negro servant, who, from being kept 
on a very scanty allowance of cold bean-porridge, bore no good- 
will towards his parsimonious master. While this ill-fed negro 
was running the mill, he observed that the swollen waters of 
the lake — here more than thirty feet in depth — had made a 
small opening through the sand of the embankment. He might 
have stopped the current with his hand or hat, but thinking, 
as he said, of the smallness of the bits of meat in his bean- 
porridge, he concluded to let the water have its course ; and so, 
gradually enlarging the opening, and gathering force as the 
sand gave way, it soon broke with irresistible impetus through 
the mound, and sweeping the mill, the dam, with every other 
barrier before it, completely flooded the whole valley below. 
By this catastrophe the pond w^as greatly reduced in size and 
depth, the old outlet on the east was left on high ground, an 
immense number of fish perished in those places whence the 
water had been drawn, the course of the Salmon Brook, as it 
now appears, was determined, and a new pond of some fifty 
acres, called the Lower Massapoag Pond, was created.* 

This is in part traditional, to be sure ; yet no one standing 
at " The Gulf," and observing the marks of the disruption of the 
embankment, together with the water-marks encircling the fine 
peninsula near by, can for a moment doubt that some such 
catastrophe has in former times occurred. 

Some time after the breaking of the dam, another grist-mill 
was erected at " The Gulf," and Jonathan Woodward, Sr., who 

♦Jonathan Danforth, who surveyed Massapoag Pond in 1688, represents it as 
"full of small islands." On the 21st of May of the same year, the town of Groton 
granted a small pond near Buck Meadow to Samuel Adams, and also permission 
to drain it by a brook running into Tyng's Cove. At the same time the town 
offered the wood on the easterly side of Unquetynasset Brook to any one that 
would set up iron works on Massapoag Pond. The time of the destruction of 
Mr. Adams's mill is a matter of conjecture. Timber trees more than two feet in 
diameter were cut fifty years ago from places formerly covered by the waters of 
the old pond. In his history of Groton (p. 246), Mr. Butler places the date of 
the flood at about 1700, and says the area of the pond, anterior to the catastro- 
phe, was " equal to a square mile or more," 
5 



65 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l794 

attained the remarkable^age of one hundred and one years 
seven months and thirteen days, was the miller. His wife, 
ne'e Sarah Read, a very stout woman, assisted him in his labor, 
and easily removed the bags of grain from the back of a horse 
to the hopper of the mill. She is said to have weighed nearly 
four hundred pounds. In an old account-book kept by Joel 
Parkhurst, Esq., I find the following items : " Dunstable, 
Nov', y^ 25''' 1775. then Mr. Jonathan Woodward Came to live 
at y^ Goulf. Sept. 6^'^ 1776, then began to Repare, the mill at 
the gulf." Leonard, son of Joel Parkhurst, had charge of this 
mill nearly up to the close of the last century. An Indian 
family long resided in the vicinity, supporting themselves by 
fishing, and making baskets. 

According to a plan of Dunstable drawn in 1794, Massapoag 
Pond covered an area of only seventy-four acres. A fulling- 
mill, in charge of Joseph Tucker, took the place of the grist- 
mill at "The Gulf" in the early part of the present century. 
To-day the water is controlled by manufacturers on Salmon 
Brook in Nashua, and the music of the cascade is broken only 
by the shrill whistle of the locomotive engine as it speeds 
along through the sequestered valley. As its waters are clear 
and pure, it will doubtless soon be made to furnish ice for 
market. 

This pond was a favorite resort of the aborigines, and many 
of their rude implements have been found in this vicinity. 
They are made of a hard, white, gray, or black stone not found 
in Dunstable. Mrs. Zebulon Blodgett, living in a very old 
house near the pond, has twelve Indian relics, all of black 
stone. Three of them are gouges, and the edge of one of these 
is very sharp. Another is a very curious instrument, used 
perhaps for scraping skins ; another is a kind of axe or toma- 
hawk ; another polished article, together with six arrow-heads, 
make up the little cabinet. An Indian hearth near the house 
is still visible. Mrs. Peter Kendall, in the same vicinity, has 
also many curious Indian relics discovered near the pond, the 
use of some of which it were not easy to determine. 

Messrs. John A. and Albert L. Parkhurst, whose ancestors 
owned the mill at " The Gulf," have an Indian gouge about 



1794] MASSAPOAG POND. ^y 

fourteen inches long and made of hard stone, the edge of 
which is very keen and finely polished. They have also pes- 
tles and arrow-heads of seven different kinds of stone, one of 
them being very long and slender. They have also an instru- 
ment in the form of a spinning top, a hollow stone cylinder, 
and other articles. These old implements, together with the 
Indian names of " Nashua," " Massapoag," and " Unquety- 
nasset," are almost the only memorials now remaining of the 
race of red men who, a little more than two hundred years ago, 
called the lakes and streams of Dunstable their own. 

The natives certainly manifested much skill, as well as 
patience, in the production of their implements. The few that 
have been preserved should be held as precious treasures by 
their owners, being associated, as they are, with men who once 
lighted their council-fires on the margin of the pond, and from 
its vast expense of water gave it the name of Massapoag, 
which appellation one of their chiefs is said to have assumed. 

A son of Dunstable thus gracefully refers to the departure 
of the red men from Massapoag Pond : — 

LINES ON THE GREAT POND AT DUNSTABLE. 

Oft have I gazed upon the scene 
Where curve thy shores so brightly green, 
When evening tinged the glowing west 
And heaven was mirrored on thy breast. 

Fairest of lakes, along thy shore 
The Indian hunter strays no more ; 
The white man's iron heel has crushed 
His every hope ; his voice is hushed. 

And yet when Luna's pearly light 
Falls softly on thy waters bright, 
To Fancy's eye dark forms appear, 
And slowly, sadly, wander near. 

Their tribes are gone ; we careless tread 
Upon the graves which hold their dead ; 
And where the wigwam's smoke arose 
Our flocks and herds in peace repose. 



68 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

* The dark-browed brave shall breathe no more 

His tale of love along thy shore ; 
Nor Indian maid within thy bowers 
Twine in her hair the woodland flowers. 

But beauty lingers round thee still, — 
The wave, the shore, the wooded hill ; 
And the red chieftain's name in thee 
Has found an immortality. 

Daniel H. Jaques. 

The Hills of the Town. — Dunstable has many beautiful 
eminences, which diversify and enhance the beauty of its 
scenery. Flat Rock Hill, in the northerly part of the 
town, forms, with its rounded sides and wooded summit, a very 
pleasing feature in the landscape. It commands a fine view 
of the valley of Salmon Brook, and from its extensive granite 
quarries promises to be of great value to the town. The 
extensive forest on this hill abounds in partridges, rabbits, 
squirrels red and gray, and here " the wild fox digs its hole 
unscared." A more solitary place is seldom seen. A pile of 
stone in the midst of the tangled wood of this hill still reminds 
the visitor of the northern terminus of the line that once 
formed the boundary between Dunstable and Groton. The 
Nashua, Acton, and Boston Railroad enters the town between 
this hill and Salmon Brook. 

Blanchard's Hill rises, as a twin sister of the former, on 
the west, and is a favorite resort for berry parties in the sum- 
mer season. From its summit may be seen the spires of the 
churches in Hollis, Pepperell, and Londonderry. The valley, 
winding along the western base of this eminence, and through 
which a cool, clear trout brook makes its way, is very charming. 

On the opposite or eastern side of Salmon Brook rises a 
long and well-cultivated eminence, over which extends the 
main road to Nashua. The southerly part is called Robv, 
and the northerly part Kendall Hill. The farms and 
buildings on this elevation appear from several of the adja- 
cent hills to great advantage. The stately elms and ample 
barns attest the excellence of the land. 

Directly east of this pleasant eminence is the wooded rise 



1873] ^^^^ HILLS OF DUNSTABLE. 69 

of land called Nutting's Hill, which has perhaps an altitude 
of two hundred feet, and which affords a delightful prospect of 
the surrounding country, diversified by meadow, forest, and 
glade, and dotted with white farm-houses where peace and 
plenty dwell. 

Forest Hill is a conspicuous eminence in the southeast 
angle of the town, from which a splendid view of the Tyngs- 
borough forests, of the Merrimack River, and of Lowell is 
obtained in the east ; while towards the west and northwest 
the eye ranges over the village at the centre, the distant 
towns of Pepperell, Hollis, and Brookline, and rests upon the 
summits of the Wachusett, the Watatick, the Grand Monad- 
nock, and the Peterborough Mountains. It is the highest 
point of land in Dunstable, and was made a station in the 
trigonometrical survey of the State. A good road extends 
nearly to the summit, and a cool spring refreshes the traveller 
by the way. 

Horse Hill, partly in Groton, overlooks Massapoag Pond 
and the valley of Unquety Brook ; and Wall Hill, near the 
preceding elevation, was divided for the railroad bed, when a 
fine specimen of blue clay was brought to light which may 
prove serviceable to its owners. 

Hound Meadow Hill, in the northwesterly section of the 
town, is said to have received its name from the circumstance 
that when Groton was assaulted by the Indians during Philip's 
War, a pack of hounds, employed by the English, pursued a 
party of the savages to this eminence, on which two of them 
were slain. 

Slatestone Hill is a precipitous and picturesque emi- 
nence on the right bank of Nashua River, composed of slate- 
stone, and covered with a fine growth of timber. 

Spectacle Hill, so named from its resemblance to a pair 
of spectacles, rises in the northeast part of the town and 
extends into Nashua, N. H. It is also covered with a fine 
growth of timber. 

Several other rounded eminences, either wooded or culti- 
vated, serve both to increase the scenic beauty of the town 
and to furnish a variety of soil for the requirements of the 



70 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [iS/S 

agriculturist. The valley, along which the main road to 
Tyngsborough extends, is remarkably pleasant, and seems 
intended for the construction of a railway. The land in the 
southwestern section of the town is level or undulating. 

Although the natural scenery of Dunstable cannot be con- 
sidered grand or imposing, it still is very beautiful. Its 
numerous hills and streams, its quiet valleys and well-culti- 
vated farms, with their neat and comfortable dwelling-houses, 
often shaded by the elm and maple, form a landscape which 
the eye contemplates with delight, So far as varied, rural, 
peaceful prospects are to be regarded, few towns in Middlesex 
County present more attractions to the eye than Dunstable. 
One must travel long and far to discover any scene as truly 
beautiful as that which charms the eye on Forest Hill. 

Geology and Mineralogy. — The underlying rock is what 
is called Merrimack schist. It is a gneissic formation of the 
Eozoic Period. It is evidently metamorphic, having been 
subjected to the agency of fire. Such rocks sometimes 
exhibit traces of the lower forms of vegetable and animal 
life. Several ledges afford building stone, improperly called 
granite, of a good quality, which may yet prove lucrative. 
There is an extensive one on Flat Rock Hill, which yields 
fair returns for the labor expended. It was opened many 
years ago, and from it pillars thirty feet in length have been 
quarried. The grain of the stone is fine, the color a light 
gray, the cleavage easy, and in quality this rock is considered 
equal to any in the State. The supply is inexhaustible. 
The upper surface of some of these ledges bears the marks of 
glacial action. The groves or striae run from north to south, 
and indicate that some solid bodies moving in that direction 
once furrowed out the lines on the face of the rock. There 
is a remarkable ledge of this description on the farm of Dexter 
Butterfield, where these glacial marks are distinctly seen. 
The dip of the ledge is slightly towards the east, and from 
the summit to the meadow below there is a perpendicular 
descent of about forty feet. 

In the westerly part of the town, between the Worcester 
and Nashua Railroad and the Nashua River, there is a 



1873] ^'^^^ ^'^^ PRODUCTIONS. yi 

wooded eminence of more than fifty feet in altitude, consist- 
ing of an extensive ledge of slatestone, which may at some 
future time be quarried to advantage. A clear, cold spring 
issues from the western base, over which the rock rises almost 
perpendicularly. This picturesque elevation is very appropri- 
ately called " Slatestone Hill." Specimens of slate are also 
found above the saw-mill on Unquetynasset Brook. 

Bowlders, varying in form and size, are strewn in liberal 
profusion over the surface of the town, having been borne 
hither in remote ages by some Titanic force for some benef- 
icent purpose. They are used for building walls and bridges ; 
also for stoning wells and cellars, with which the dwelling- 
houses are amply provided. Though somewhat troublesome 
to the farmer, they still, by disintegration, improve his land, 
and constitute the very best material for enclosing it. One 
of these huge bowlders, on the farm of the late Francis 
Fletcher, has, by some tremendous agency, been rent asunder, 
and from the cleft a pure spring of water gushes forth. There 
is another large cloven bowlder near the Tyngsborough line. 

Good bog-iron ore is found on the farm of the late Jasper 
P. Proctor, about one half a mile southeast of the centre of 
the town. About half a century ago this ore was carried to 
Chelmsford and worked up to advantage. Excellent peat, and 
also clay for making brick, are found in several localities. Crys- 
tallized quartz, conglomerate, ferruginous gneiss, and asbestos 
are of common occurrence. An immense ledge, two thirds of 
a mile east of the centre, furnishes several kinds of minerals, 
and sea-sand of an excellent quality is found near Massapoag 
Pond. A mineral spring near the margin of this lake attracted 
some attention several years ago, and a hotel was erected for 
the accommodation of visitors ; but the patronage was never 
extensive, and the spring is now covered by the waters of the 
pond. Another small spring, strongly impregnated with iron, 
has lately been discovered on the margin of Sewall's Brook 
just above its entrance into Massapoag Pond. 

Soil and Productions. — The soil of Dunstable is in 
the main a gravelly or sandy loam, with here and there an 
intermixture of clay. It is in general, even to the summit of 



72 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [18/3 

the hills, productive, and well adapted to the growth of hay, 
corn, oats, rye, barley, potatoes, garden vegetables, fruit and 
forest trees. The number of acres in woodland is about 1,325, 
and the timber growth consists of red and white oak, maple, 
chestnut, walnut, white and yellow pine, gray and yellow 
birch, alder and poplar. Here and there the white or canoe 
birch, the black and white ash, the willow, the spruce and 
hemlock, Norway pine, beach, butternut, cornus, hornbeam, 
rock or sugar maple, and hackmatack occur. Apple orchards 
are numerous, and the landscape is in many places beautified 
by stately elms and other ornamental trees, which have been 
wisely spared in clearing off the forests or planted by the 
owners of the soil. The long rows of elms in the centre of 
the town furnish grateful shade and give an air of rural beauty 
to the quiet village. 

The m.eadow lands abound in cranberries ; the hills, pastures, 
and roadsides, in blueberries, whortleberries, blackberries, and 
grapes, whose annual gathering affords both profit and diver- 
sion to the young people. In the lowlands are found the side- 
saddle flower, the fleiir-de-lis, the cardinal flower, and the blue 
gentian ; the ground laurel {epigece repens) and the mountain 
laurel appear in one or two localities ; while the spring beauty, 
the white-weed or gowan, the aster, golden rod, and coreopsis 
blossom profusely in their respective seasons. 

The Inhabitants of the Town, — The people of Dun- 
stable are mostly farmers, occupying to a large extent the 
lands laid out, and eating the fruit of the orchards planted by 
the hands of their forefathers. Many families, as, for example, 
those bearing the name of Cummings, Butterfield, French, 
Fletcher, Blood, Kendall, Blodgett, Parker, Parkhurst, Proctor, 
Woods, Woodward, and Swallow, trace their lineage back to 
the original settlers, and in some instances live in the houses 
which they built. 

The house occupied by Mrs. Zebulon Blodgett is very 
ancient. It was once the homestead of William Blodgett, who 
was out in the old French War. It was once or twice, in the 
absence of the men, assaulted by the Indians, who were kept 
at bay by the stratagems of its female occupants. The house 



1873] '^^^ HOUSES. 73 

now owned by Alpheus Swallow, Esq., was built by one of his 
ancestors, and prior to its being repaired had over a 'i^oor the 
date of 1757. A part of the house of John French, great- 
grandfather of Benjamin French, Esq., now forms one of his 
sheds for grain. The age of Dexter Butterfield's house, built 
upon the site of that once occupied by Robert Blood, is about 
one hundred years. One of the oldest houses in town is that 
now owned by James T. Burnap, Esq. It was built by Dea. 
Joseph Fletcher about one hundred and forty years ago, and is 
still in a very good condition. The house now occupied by 
Nathaniel C. Kendall is more than one hundred years old. It 
was built by Capt. Oliver Cummings, and long used as a 
tavern. Mr. Kendall has a quarto Bible, of the date of 1 747, 
and a copy of the Worcester Collection of Music, published in 
1788, from which his parents learned the art of singing. He 
has also two very large pewter platters which were used by 
the Cummings family more than two hundred years ago, and 
a small teapot used by Israel Whitney, who died at Cape 
Breton in 1745. 

The present citizens of Dunstable are industrious, frugal, 
and temperate. They are are noted for their republican sim- 
plicity, well-cultivated farms, pleasant homesteads, and ample 
barns. Their school-houses, highways, and bridges are kept in 
good repair. The town is out of debt, and in respect to good 
order, friendliness, equality, and fraternity is a most desirable 
place of residence. 



74 HJSTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1/43 



CHAPTER V I. 

Line retweev the States established. — First recorded Town-Meet- 
ing IN Dunstable proper. — Ancient Orthography. — Names ok the 
Tax-Payers in 1744. — Notices of the Same. — First In.nholder. 

— Petition for a Fortification. — Agitation in Respect to the 
SriE FOR A Meeting-House, — Vote in Respect to Groton People. 

— First Mention of a Public School. — Wild Animals. — Con- 
troversy on the Location of the Meeting-House. — Ordkr of Gen- 
eral Court in Respect to Groton Families. — Erection of the 
Mfp;tingHouse, — Accident at the Raising of the Frame. — Roads 

LAID OUT. 

" Every church halh power of government in and b)^ itself, and no 
church or officer hatli power over one another but by way of advice or 
counsel, saving that the General Court now and then overrules some 
church matters." Thomas Lechford. 

" Where is that glad and happy throng, 
Witli heart elate and flashing eye, 
Who sported here 1 The young, the strong, — 
Where are they.'' Let the grave reply." 

D. C. COLESWORTHY. 

The celebrated line between the provinces of New Hamp- 
shire and Massachusetts was surveyed and established by- 
Richard Hazen during the month of February, 1741, bringing 
about two thirds of the inhabitants of the old parish into this 
State, and it is presumable that town officers were that year 
elected in Dunstable, Mass. ; but the few first pages of the 
earliest book of records are unfortunately gone, and it is now 
impossible to ascertain who were the public officers of that and 
the ensuing year. 

On the 8th of February, 1743, Eleazer Tyng, Jo.seph Eaton, 
and Jonathan Taylor petitioned the General Court for permis- 
sion to choose town officers, since the previous selectmen had 
neglected to issue a warrant for that purpose. The petition 



i;744] ANCIENT ORTHOGRAPHY. 75 

was granted, and a town-meeting, the first recorded, was held 
at the house of Ebenezer Kendall,* March 5, 1743, when the 
following officers were chosen : Eleazer Tyng, moderator ; 
Eleazer Tyng, John Kendall, and John Woodward, selectmen ; 
John Woodward, clerk ; Abraham Kendall, treasurer ; Oliver 
Farwell, constable; Thomas Chamberlain, tythingman; Andrew 
Foster and Benjamin Farwell, surveyors of wood ; Jonathan 
Robbins and John Woodward, Jr., field-drivers ; Joseph Davis 
and Stephen Adams, fence-viewers ; Benjamin Scott and David 
Taylor, hog-reeves ; and it was voted that Josiah Blodgett 
" shall be a Dear Reave to preven y"" killing of Dear out of 
season." 

At another meeting, held at the house of Simon Thompson,! 
Eleazer Tyng, Ebenezer Parkhurst, and John Kendall were 
chosen " to assist John Woodward, y*^ Town clerk, in record- 
ing all y*" Town votes." It is not at all surprising, though 
such aid were rendered the recorder, to find specimens of 
orthography on the archives of the town indicating that the 
schoolmaster had not then been abroad ; the arduous work 
demanded in the planting of a town leaves but little time or 
taste for the grammar, spelling-book, or dictionary. The 
church was then the principal school, the minister the in- 
structor, and these were steadily supported, as the next record 
in the old stained and mutilated folio testifies : " March y« 28, 
1744, voted y' Twenty Pounds in Lawful money shall be Raised 
& assessed to Suporte y*^ gospel among us." Eleazer Tyng, 
Esq., John French, and Ebenezer Kendall were then chosen 
" t(? treate with the Reverend Mr. Swan, & to see if any Thing 
was due to him from y^ Town of Dunstabell before y^ Line was 
Run between y^ said Province." 

* His house stood a little to the northeast of the central cemetery. He peti- 
tioned the General Court, Feb. 8, 1743, for license to keep a tavern (Massachusetts 
Archives), and was the first innholder in Dunstable, Mass. 

t He lived about one mile west of what is now Tyngsborough Centre. 



7^ 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1744 



THE NAMES OF THE TAX-PAYERS AT THIS TIME (1744), AS RECORDED 
ON THE TOWN BOOK. 



Eleazer Tyng, Esq. 
John French. 
John CuiMMings. 
Jonathan Taylor. 
John Ki-.ndali,. 
Ahraham Taylor. 

EliENF.ZER PaRKHUUST. 

Nathaniel Cummings. 
Henry Farwell. 
John Woodward. 
Ahraham Kendall. 
Andrew F(jster. 
Ebenezer Proctor. 
Ehenezer Butterfield. 
Samuel Taylor. 
Isaac Colburn. 
Josiah Blodgett. 
Thomas Chamberlain. 
John Steel. 
Oliver Colburn. 
Joseph Eaton. 
Robert Scott. 
Adford Jaquith. 
Ehenezer Kendall. 
Thomas Frost. 
Oliver Farwell. 
Benjamin Scott. 



Timothy Bancroft. 
Benjamin Farwell. 
John French, Jr. 
Jonathan Taylor, Jr. 
Noah Tar box. 
Stephen Adams. 
James Whitney. 
Jonathan Robbins. 
Samuel Howard. 
Samuel Roby. 
Thomas Estabrook. 
Thomas Estabrook, Jr. 
William Scott. 
Robert Blood. 
Moses Estabrook. 
Zachariah Adams. 
David Taylor. 
John Woodward, Jr. 
William Blanchard. 
John Kendall, Jr. 
Thomas Howard. 
Joseph Taylor. 
John Buck. 
George Addison. 
Thomas Adams. 
Timothy Taylor. 
Ephraim Adams. 
Total, 54. 



It may be noticed of the above-mentioned persons that, — 
Eleazer Tvng, son of Hon. Jonathan and Sarah (Usher) 
Tyng, was born April 3, 1690. H. C. 1712, was justice of the 
peace, colonel of militia, and one of the most prominent rtien 
of the town. His name appears on many deeds and other 
papers of his day. 

John French was the son of Lieut. William and Sarah 
(Cummings) French, one of the earliest settlers of Dunstable, 
and was born May 6, 1691. He lived on the homestead now 
occupied by Benjamin French, Esq., and a part of his house 
still remains. July 4, 17 19, Samuel, Joseph, John, Ehenezer, 
and Alice French sell for ;^50 to Nathaniel Cummings one 
half of a thirty-acre lot, formerly belonging to John Viall of 
Boston. 



1744] TAX-PAYERS. 77 

John Cummings was the son of Nathaniel Cummings, and 
was born Jan, 14, 1698. He was a captain of militia, and died 
Aug. 15, 1770. He gave a bond, Feb. 3, 1729, to maintain 
his mother Abigail, wife of Nathaniel Cummings, which was 
witnessed by Eleazer Tyng and William Butterfield. 

Jonathan Taylor was descended from William Taylor, 
who came from England. , . 

Lieut. John Kendall was the son of John Kendall, of IJ.e^.e-^-l^eU. 
Woburn, and was born Jan. 19, 1696. He died July 27, 1759. JuiC . //2^^<K/>t^ 
He was the father of Dea. Zebedee Kendall, and grandfather . ^^/ 
of the Hon. Amos Kendall. Several brothers of the name 
of Kendall settled in Dunstable, a little south of the present 
line of Nashua, N. H., about the year 1720. John Kendall 
sold to Nathaniel Cummings, Dec. 14, 1739, "a Sartain peace 
of meddow Land Lying in Dunstable aforesaid and in Brattles 
Farm so called and on y*' Weste side of Salmon Brook, half 
an acre by measure." The deed was witnessed by John 
Woodward and Jonathan Lovewell. 

Ensign Ebenezer Parkhurst came to Dunstable from 
Chelmsford subsequent to 1726, and settled on the place now 
occupied by Albert L. and John A. Parkhurst, about a mile 
south of the centre of the town. He died June 13, 1757, in 
his fifty-eighth year. The children of Ebenezer and Sarah 
Parkhurst were, i. Joseph, born Aug. 30, 1724; 2. Ebenezer, 
born Jan. 20, 1728 ; 3. Sarah, born Feb. 21, 1730 ; 4. Mary, 
born May 3, 1733 ; 5. Silas, born Sept. i, 1737 ; and 6. Joel, 
born Aug. 3, 1741. John Spaulding, of Groton, sold to Eben- 
ezer Parkhurst, March 8, 1749, a tract of one hundred and 
fifty acres of land, bounded in part by Brattle's Farm and lying 
on Salmon Brook. 

Henry Far well, son of Henry Farwell, of Chelmsford, 
married Esther, daughter of Capt. Joseph Blanchard, and 
lived a little south of the Danforth place, in what is now 
Tyngsborough. His brother Josiah, who escaped from the 
ambuscade at Naticook, was killed in Capt. Joljn Lovewell's 
fight with Paugus, at Pequawket. John Bulkley sold land, 
Dec. 25, 1 7 10, to Henry Farwell on Little Naacook or 
Howard's Brook. In 1721 Henry Farwell conveys "Mill- 



78 IJISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l744 

Stone Meadow" to John French, and in 1745 a certain lot 
of land to Joseph Danforth. 

John Woodward died July r8, 1738. The family came 
from Reading, and is still represented by that of James Wood- 
ward, of Dunstable. 

Ebenezer Proctor married Elizabeth Blood, of Groton, 
Nov. 25, 1735. 

Ebenezer Butterfield married Alice , and was a 

member of the church in 1757. The family came from 
Chelmsford. 

Samuel Taylor, son of Abraham Taylor, was born Oct. 
r, 1708. He married Susan Perham, was chosen deacon in 
1757, and died Oct. 3, 1792. His son Samuel, born Oct. 15, 
1734, died at Lake George, Nov. 18, 1755. Dea. James 
Taylor lived on what is now the Lowell road, about one mile 
from the centre of the town. Jonathan Taylor sold land on 
Brattle's Farm, in 1732, to John P^rench. 

David Taylor lived on the Wright place, and died Dec. 15, 
1809, aged eighty-eight years. 

JosiAH Blodgett married Jemima Nutting, of Groton, 
April 13, 1737, and died Feb. 9, 1792, in his eighty-fourth year. 
He was a member of the church in 1757, and lived in the 
vicinity of Massapoag Pond. His house was at one time a 
garrison. 

John Steel was for some time clerk of the parish. He 
lived on an eminence in the southerly part of the town, and 
died Aug. 18, 1760, aged fifty-seven years. Inscribed on his 
head-stone on Meeting House Hill are the words, "The 
Memory of The Just is Blist." 

Robert Scott lived a little south of John Steel. 

Adford Jaquith was an active citizen, an original member 
of the church, and died July 16, 1 791, in the eighty-seventh 
year of his age. He sold to Nathaniel Cum mings, Dec. 14, 1734, 
twenty acres of land "a littell westward from y^ said Jaquiths 
house which \vas on the northern side of Forest Hill." The 
deed was witnessed by John Woodward and John Cummings. 

Timothy Bancroft lived on the river road, a short dis- 
tance south of the State line. He married Elizabeth Farwell, 



1 744-5 1 ^^^ TIFICA 7 IONS. jQ 

whose brother, Lieut. Josiah Farwell, was killed in the fight at 
Pequawket, on the 8th of May, 1725. He was born in 1709, 
and died Nov. 21, 1772. 

Stephen Adams was a member of the church in 1757. 

Jonathan Robbins was born Nov. 4, 1718. His father, 
Lieut. Jonathan Robbins, was killed in the Pecjuawket fight. 
The Robbins family lived in the northwest section of the town. 

Samuel Howard was born in 1684, and died Feb. 7, 1769. 
He owned a large tract of land on Howard's Brook. 

Samuel Roby lived about eighty rods north of John French. 

Robert Blood married Sarah , of Groton, and had 

ijtter alios Robert, born Dec. 26, 1733, who was a member of 
the church and lived near the garrison house, about a quarter 
of a mile east of Meeting-House Hill. 

William Blanchard was the son of Thomas and Ruth 
(Adams) Blanchard, and was born in 1701. He married 
Deliverance Parker, of Groton, Feb. 28, 1733-4. 

As the town had no meeting-house, the people continued to 
assemble at Ebenezer Kendall's tavern for the transaction of 
public business. At a meeting held there May 2, 1744, it was 
voted " that the Select Men with Mr. Abraham Taylor and 
Mr. Tim° Bancrafte be a committee to tak Cair to hier the 
Gospel to be preached among us." At a meeting held July 
23, of the same year, it was voted " to except som of y^ 
peopell of Groton Living in y^ Northeaste parte of it Called 
Joynt Grass to be enexed to us." John Kendall, Joseph Eaton, 
and John Woodward were then appointed to petition the 
General Court " for fortifications to defend us." It appears 
that two at least were then, or at a previous date, erected, one 
of which stood a little to the eastward of the present home- 
stead of Mr. James Bennett, and the other, in front of the 
house of Robert Blood and near the present residence of Mr. 
Dexter Butterfield. The well of the former garrison still 
remains. It does not appear that the Indians made any 
demonstrations against the town subsequent to this period. 

On the 4th of March, 1744-5, the town voted "y' y*^ Swine 
shall goat Large y^ year insuing"; and on the 14th of the 
same month, " y' Decon Abraham Taylors Hous shall be y^ 
place to preach in for the Present." 



8o HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1746 

Benjamin Butterfield, son of Joseph Butterfield who settled 
on the east bank of the Merrimack River in 171 1, went to 
Cape Breton under Sir William Pepperell in 1745, and after 
having been appointed captain, died there in the service. 

In November, 1746, the town " voted to raise 8 pounds law- 
ful money to pay for preach the current year " ; but to whom 
that money was paid for proclaiming the glad tidings in 
" Decon Taylors Hous " the records do not inform us. 

At this period the " vexed question " of erecting a meeting- 
house began to be agitated, and it continued for several years 
to disturb the peace of the people. The territory of the town 
was long, extending from Dracut on the east, some ten miles 
or more, to Groton on the west. The families, amounting in 
all to fifty-four, were pretty evenly settled, if we except the 
Tyng estate, over the whole surface. A new church had been 
erected in 1738 on the New Hampshire side of the line, and 
was partly owned by the people on this side of it. Some of 
them still preferred to worship there ; others wished to buy 
the New Hampshire meeting-house and remove it, — some 
to the centre of the territory, some to the centre of popula- 
tion ; while still another party thought it best to build out- 
right, and to choose a disinterested committee from some of 
the neighboring towns to determine the location. It is very 
amusing to read the successive resolutions of the town in 
respect to this troublesome question. The contest continued 
almost as long as the old Trojan war. Meeting after meeting 
was held, plans of the town were drawn up, appeals were made 
to the General Court, and the decision of to-day was reversed 
by the decision of to-morrow. In his sermon at the dedica- 
tion of the second meeting-house in Pepperell, the Rev. Joseph 
Emerson said, with an eye to this state of things in Dun- 
stable, " It hath been observed that some of the hottest 
contentions in this land hath been about settling of ministers 
and building meeting-houses, and what is the reason } The 
Devil is a great enemy to setllmg ministers and building meet- 
ing-houses ; wherefore he sets on his own children to work and 
make difficulties, and to the utmost of his power stirs up the 
corruptions of the children of God in some way to oppose or 
obstruct so good a work." 



1748] PLAN OF DUNSTABLE. 8 1 

At a meeting held at the inn of Ebenezer Kendall, May 
22, 1747, the town voted to raise ^150 to pay for the meet- 
ing-house in New Hampshire and the ground on which to 
place it. 

Some families in Nottingham, and in Joint Grass, petitioned 
the General Court, about this time, to be annexed to Dunsta- 
ble. Their petition was to be granted on condition that a 
meeting-house should be erected two hundred and forty-eight 
rods, fifty-two degrees west of north from the northeast cor- 
ner of Mr. John Tyng'sland ; but this location did not satisfy 
the town.* 

In July, 1747, the people, in a public meeting, voted to 
appropriate ^25 for preaching and " to meet on y*^ Sabbath at 
y*^ house of Mr. John Woodward " ; and on the 26th of October 
following they voted " to Sell or bye y^ said meeting House 
and land purchased to sett it on." 

The committee appointed to designate the place for the 
building was opposed to a proposition to erect it " near y^ end 
of y^ half milld to the Easte from y^ senter of y*^ inhabitants." 
Tne town voted, Sept. 8. 1748, "not to set off y' parte of this 
town that was formerly Groton to Groton again." This sec- 
tion of the town, lying between Salmon Brook and Nashua 
River, and containing the Swallow, Fletcher, Blood, Read, and 
other families, was of much importance at this time, since it 
determined the balance of power on the question of fixing the 
site of the meeting-house towards the west. 

It was also voted at the same meeting " to Rais Money to 
buld a Meting-house on y^ Place y' was last voted for." This 
vote was, however, reconsidered Oct. 20, and it was then 
decided to place the house " about ten rod to y"^ south of 
Nathaniel Jewell's house on a Knowl." This place, it seems, 
had been recommended by a committee consisting of Col. 
Minot, Major Lawrence, and Mr. Brewer, who had been 
appointed for that purpose. 

A map of the town, made by Joseph Blanchard, and bearing 
dale Oct. 17, 1748, was laid before the General Court, in order 

* Massachusetts Archives, Vol. CXV, p. 510. 



82 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[^749 



to show the centre of land, and also of population to that body, 
and the fitting place for the location of the church. On this 
plan the farms of Col. Tyng and Mr. John Tyng embrace an 
area six miles and fifty-six rods in length, and one mile wide. 
Mr, Jeremiah Colburn's * house is designated as in the north- 
east, and Mr. Robbins's house in the northwest angle of the 
town. By the northern line of the town the distance from the 
Nashua to the Merrimack River is four miles, two hundred 
and twenty-nine rods, and from the latter river to the line of 
Dracut, three miles and seventy-two rods.f 

For the purpose of building the meeting-house the town 
voted to raise ^loo lawful money, and also, Nov. 15, "to 
buld y^ said house 46 feet long, 36 feet wide, and 21 feet 
studes." 

On the 27th of December, 1748, the town voted "to Raise 
thirty Pounds old Tenor $ for the Suporte of a school." This 
is the first mention of any action respecting a school on the 
records. § 

It was probably what was called a "a moveing school," that 
is, a school taught by the same person successively in various 
private dwellings of the town. The reading-books then used 
were the New England Primer, with its rude cuts of Adam 
and Eve, Jonah and the Whale, and rustic rhymes, such as 

" The idle fool 
Is whipt at school," 

the Psalter and the New Testament. The birchen twig was 
liberally applied to the offenders, and the Assembly's Cate- 
chism frequently repeated. It was, perhaps, in the minds of 
many too often associated with the tingling of the aforesaid 
twig to be of much spiritual service. 

It appears that in 1749 some of the timber had been pre- 

* He was a Presbyterian, and attended church at Londonderry, N. H. 

t The chain for the survey was carried by Messrs. Henry Adams and Timothy 
Colburn. 

t One ounce of silver coin, valued at 6j-. S*/. was, in 1749, worth 60s. in bills of 
credit. Three ounces of silver at 6s. SJ. per ounce was equal to ^i lawful money. 

§ In 1742 the town of Groton made provision for a school at Unquetynasset. — 
Butler's History of Groton, p. 219. 



1749] BOUNTY FOR WOLVES. 83 

pared for the coming church ; for on the 26th of May, at a 
town-meeting held at the house of Simon Thompson, it was 
voted, "y' y^ meting-house y' is to be bult in this town be 
erected on y^ easte side of y^ Rhoad y' Leads from Mr. 
Simon Thomsons to Capt. Cumings whare som of y*^ timber 
for said House now Lies, which place is about 40 Rods 
Northwardly from Isaac Colburn." 

The Court declared, June 26, that the people of Nottingham 
and Joint Grass had forfeited the benefit of being incorporated 
with Dunstable, and that " the meting-house should be erected 
on the east side of the road from Capt. Cummings to Simon 
Thompsons house where the timber lies for it." The Joint 
Grass families at this time were those of John Swallow, Joseph 
Spaulding, Jr., Timothy Read, Joseph Fletcher, Benjamin Rob- 
bins, John Spaulding, and Samuel Cummings. In July follow- 
ing, the Nottingham and Joint Grass people, being dissatisfied 
with the place fixed upon for the church, petitioned the Court 
that they might be annexed to Dunstable ; and this, probably, 
in order that they might vote on the question. 

Wolves were at this time very troublesome, and bears occa- 
sionally made their way into town ; the catamount also now 
and then annoyed the people. It is related that one evening, 
while Deacon Joseph Fletcher, who purchased a tract of about 
six hundred acres at twelve cents per acre in the Joint Grass 
district about the year 1735, was absent at the mill, his 
wife Elizabeth, hearing something like the screaming of a 
child, went to the door, and saw the eyes of a catamount 
glaring at her from a tree. She fastened the door upon her 
visitor, yet fearing he might gain an entrance through a win- 
dow, she crept into a barrel, and in that uncomfortable posi- 
tion spent the night.* 

The town voted, in 1749, to pay \2s. 6d. to any person 
from Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Westford, Lunenburg, 
Harvard, or Hollis, on condition that these towns should do 
the same, " that shall kill any Grone Wolf within one year 
within the bounds of any of these Respective towns or shall 

* See The Fletcher Genealogy, p. 54. 



34 HIS70RY OF DUNSTABLE. [l752 

tak the tracte in any of these townes & folow it till thay kill 
it where they will if y^ hed be produced by way of evidence 
& y^ Ears cut off as the Law directs." 

March 5, 1749-50, it was voted "to alow a town way from 
David Taylors to Nathaniel Parkers" ; and in July following, 
;^20 were to be raised for " y^ supporte of the gospell." 

A committee, consisting of Eleazer Tyng, Esq., Josiah 
Blodgett, Timothy Bancroft, John Kendall, Jr., and John 
Woodward, was at the same time chosen "to fix a place for a 
meeting-house." The town could not agree on their decision, 
and at a meeting held Oct. 30, it was voted " not to buld a 
meting house for y^ publick worship of God." It was then, 
at a meeting held at Robert Blood's house, Dec. 7, " voted 
not to Joyn with y'^ peopell in New Hampshire in settling the 
gospell." At the same time it was voted " to Raise money to 
suporte the gospell at y^ ould meting house this winter 
season." This was the church erected on the New Hamp- 
shire side of the line in 1738, the people there using at this 
time the church subsequently built by Jonathan Lovewell 
and his associates.* 

At a meeting held March 18, 175 i, at the house of Robert 
Blood, a central point on the road from Joint Grass to the 
Merrimack River, where the bridge now stands, it was 
voted "to except a Curb way from Mr. Ebenezer Proctors to 
Groton line.f The sum of ;^i5 was appropriated for mend- 
ing highways and bridges, and a man was to have one shilling 
per day for working thereon. At another meeting, held Dec. 
19 of this year, it was voted "to set of Mr. James Colburn 
with y^ land that lies between Hollis and groton from groton 
Corner to Nashua River be laid to groton." It was also voted 
" not to send to the Court to git Nottingham and Joynte 
grass anexed to us as formerly they was." 

On the 20th of May, 1752, it was voted that the meeting- 
house be erected "on a knowl by the Road that leads from 
David taylors % to Simon Tomsons, about five or six rods 

* History of the Old TownsJiip of jDunstable, by Charlei J. Fo.x, p. 149. 
t He lived on the place now occupied by Elbiidge G. Chapman. 
X He lived where George P. Wright now lives. 



1^53] FAMILIES FROM GROTON. 85 

north where the road was lying" ; and at the next meeting, 
July 6, it was voted that " Dea. Stikny, of billerica, Capt. 
Nickols of Redding & Deacon Stone of groton be a Com- 
mittee to fix a place for a meting house," 

The decision of this committee satisfied the majority of 
the town in respect to the long-contested point ; for on the 
2d of September it voted " to erect a meting house on the 
East corner of David Taylors land," as the said committee 
had determined. At the next meeting, Oct. 26, it was voted 
to raise ;^53 6s. 8d. to pay for that part of the New Hamp- 
shire church which the committee, consisting of Col. Tyng, 
Samuel Taylor, and Joseph Pike, had purchased, and for " taking 
down, removing & rebuilding s? meting house." On the i8th 
of December following, a committee was chosen to petition 
the General Court that " those living in the northeast part of 
Groton at a place called Joynt grass be ennexed to this town 
of Dunstable as they formerly were." 

It appears from the following record that these people were 
willing, if the meeting-house were built upon a spot that 
suited them, to become again citizens of Dunstable: — 

"Groton, May 10, 1753. We have concluded to Joine with Dun.s table 
in settling the go.spell and all other affairs hart & hand in case Dunstable 
woud meet us in erecting a meting house in center of Lands or center of 
Travel. 

"Joseph Spaulding, Jr. 
John Swallow. 
Timothy Read. 
Samuel Cumings. 
Joseph Parkhurst." 

This proposition was accepted June 7, 1753. "The Gen- 
eral Court ordered that Joseph Fletcher, Joseph Spalding, 
Samuel Cumings, Benjamin Robins, Tiinothy Read, John 
Swallow, Joseph Parkhurst, & Ebenezer Parkhurst, Jr., with 
their families & Estates, etc., be annexed to the town of 
Dunstable, agreable to the vote of the Town of Groton on the 
1 8th day of May, 1747." Thus those families became a con- 
stituent part of the town of Dunstable. It was finally agreed 
to erect a meeting-house forty-two feet long, thirty-two feet 
wide, and with posts twenty-one feet high " by y'^ Highway 



86 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l753 

Side which Leads from y^ house of Mr, Temple Kendall to 
Mr. Robert Bloods house." 

The spot selected is a rocky knoll on the left-hand side of 
the road, leading from the village of Dunstable to that of 
Tyngsborough, and about one mile distant from the former 
place. It commands a fine prospect towards the west, with 
the rounded summit of Wachuset Mountain in the distance. 
The land is now covered with a heavy growth of pine, oak, 
and maple timber, and no "trace whatever of the old church 
remains. The graveyard on the western slope of the hill, 

" Where the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep," 

alone indicates the place where the people for manv years 
assembled for the transaction of civil and political affairs, as 
well as for the special service of the Lord. 

The committee appointed to build the meeting-house con- 
sisted of Ebenezer Sherwin, Ebenezer Kendall, and Samuel 
Cummings, and they reported to the town Dec. 24, 1753, as 
follows : " We have built said house, & have erected it on y^ 
north side of the road that leads from Ebenezer Butterfields 
to Robert Bloods, about 34 poles from said center and have 
finished it all saving the doors." 

The raising of the edifice took place on the i8th of July, 
1753, when, we may suppose that the whole plantation was 
gathered together to assist in laying the ponderous sills, in 
erecting, with long spike poles, the heavy posts of oak, and in 
putting the rafters into place. We cannot but suppose that, 
in accordance with the custom of those days, they passed the 
flowing bowl freely from lip to lip, and that they partook 
joyously of the bountiful dinner which our good great-grand- 
mothers on such festivals provided. But a lamentable acci- 
dent occurred before the *' raising" was completed, which filled 
every heart with anguish. When the frame was nearly up, 
two men fell suddenly from a spar, and one of them, Mr. 
Abiel Richardson of Groton, striking upon a rock, immediately 
expired ; while the other man, more fortunate, escaped with 
very severe bruises and contusions. The calamity is thus 
noticed by the Boston Weekly News Letter of July 26, 1753 : — 



1755] INTRODUCTION OF THE POTATO. 87 

" We hear from Dunstable that a sorrowful Accident happened there as 
they were raising the Frame for a New Meeting House in that Town Yes- 
terday was sev' night. Two Men assisting in the work fell from a spar 
and one of them [Abiel Richardson of Groton] had his Brains dash'd 
out, his Head in the Fall striking upon a Rock, so that he expir'd imme- 
diately, the other was much bruis'd, but 'tis tho't will recover." 

The Rev. Joseph Emerson of Pepperell made at the time 
this note of the accident in his journal : — 

"July 19, 1753, Abiel Richardson, a man above thirty years old, assist- 
ing at the raising of Dunstable meetinghouse, fell, and died in a moment." 

The frame was soon covered and a floor laid, so that the 
house could be used for public worship, but the seats were 
introduced gradually, and the structure was not completed for 
several years. 

A town-meeting was held in the church March 27, 1754, 
and as it had now become a central point, several highways 
or bridle-paths, converging towards it, were permitted to 
be made. It was voted " to allow a town road from y^ north 
side of Capt. Cumings old orchard to the meeting house," 
also, " a Curb road from Adford Jaquiths to the meting 
house," also, *' a town road from Samuel Taylors to the road 
that leads from Joint Grass." At a town-meeting in May fol- 
lowing it was voted " to build y^ two bodys of seats and to 
Provide Boards for the Pulpit." 

Jonathan Tyng, John Alford Tyng, and Willard Hall, Jr., 
petitioned the General Court, this year, that three hundred 
acres of land in Chelmsford should be annexed to Dunstable, 
and although strenuously opposed by that town, the petition 
was granted.* 

At a meeting held at Oliver Colburn's house, March 21, 
1755, Benjamin Farwell, Timothy Bancroft, Joseph Danforth, 
and John Steel were chosen selectmen, and Ebenezer Sherwin 
was elected " Culler of Staves." 

The income from the sale of this article, as well as from that 
of hoop-poles, shingles, peltry, and flax, was then considerable. 
The potato had just been introduced and was beginning to take 

* Allen's History of Chelmsford, p. 50. 



38 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l755 

the place of the turnip at the table ; fish and wild fowl were 
abundant. The people spun and wove their own flax and 
wool into good, serviceable cloth, which they colored with 
vegetable dyes and made into garments. The women rode to 
church on horseback, seated sometimes behind the men. The 
tavern, the mill, and the blacksmith shop were the three sev- 
eral points where the men assembled for the discussion of the 
questions of the day, which had reference generally to the 
building of the roads, the condition of the crops, the husking 
party, the last matrimonial engagement, the last wild animal 
killed in town, or the singing or the sermon at the church. 



1755] '^^^^ FIRST PARISH OF DUNSTABLE. gQ 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Meeting-House of the First Parish. — Formation of the Second 
Parish. — Slaves in Dunstable. — Robert Blood's Sale of a Negro. 
— Payment of several Ministers. — Organization of a Church 
Covenant, and Names of Members. — The Settlement of the Rev. 
Josiah Goodhue. — The Half- Way Covenant. — Bounds between 
Dunstable and Groton. — Names of the Fifteen Highest Tax- 
Payers. — Line between the First and Second Parishes. — The 
Old French and Indian War. — Seating the Meeting-House. — 
French Acadians. — Boundaries of the Second Parish. — Members 
of the First Parish. — A Remarkable Thunder-Storm. — The 
First State Census. — The Pound and the Stocks. — A Protest of 
Robert Blood and Others. 

'■'• I know no other landlord than the Lord of all the land, to whom I owe 
the most sincere gratitude." Dickinson. 

" Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, 

Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke. 
How jocund did they drive their team afield ! 

How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke ! " 

Thomas Gray. 

As the location of the church on Meeting-House Hill did 
not well accommodate nor please the inhabitants in the east- 
erly part of the town, they formed themselves into a precinct, 
called the First Parish of Dunstable, and erected a small 
meeting-house, with two porches and a tall steeple,* near the 
spot where the Unitarian Church now stands, in Tyngsborough 
Centre.! 

* It was blown down in the great gale of September, 1815. 

t The Hon. John Pitts is credited with the authorship of these lines thereupon: — 

" A very small meeting-house, 
A very tall steeple ; 
A very proud minister, 
A queer sort of people." 



QO HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l755 

At a meeting of the members of this parish, Aug. 20, 1755> 
it was voted "that the place for a meeting-house in this pre- 
cinct be on the west of Merrimaclc River, near Mr. James 
Gordons Mills, where a fraim is erected for that purpose." It 
was also voted " to accept the fraim that is Now on the spot." 
It is also recorded "that John & Jonathan Tyng came into the 
Meeting & gave the Precinct Glass for the meeting-house." 
At a meeting of the precinct, held in 1756, Eleazer Tyng, 
Simon Thompson, and Qliver Farwell were appointed a com- 
mittee " to sett of the pew ground to those that have given & 
Pay'^ most toward building Said house." In the ensuing year 
this parish raised £,i\ " to hire preaching." 

The people of the westerl)^ part of the town were also organ- 
ized into a precinct or parish, about the time of the erection of 
their meeting-house, as the following record shows : — 

"In answer to a petition presented by Ebenezer Sherwin & Ebenezer 
Kendall to the Council, June 13, 1755, it was ordered that such of y^ Inhab- 
itants of ye Town of Dunstable and their Estates situate to ye Westward 
of Simon Thomson's Dwelling House to gether with their Associates 
who on or before ye thirteenth day of September next shall give in their 
Names to ye Secretary of ye Province with their Desires therefor signified 
in Writing Be & they are Hereby ordered In to a Precinct and vested with 
all ye Powers and Priveleges & subjected to all ye Duties that other Pre- 
cincts in this Province are by Law invested with and subjected to." 

This Act received the signature of Gov. William Shirley, 
June 14, 1755, and the first meeting of this Second Parish, or 
precinct, in Dunstable, as it was for a long time called, was 
held at "y'= meeting-house" on the 27th of October following, 
when Ebenezer Sherwin was chosen moderator, and John 
Steel, parish clerk. John Cummings, John Steel, and Joseph 
Fletcher were chosen as " committeemen and assessors of said 
parish." Joseph Danforth was chosen treasurer, and Benjamin 
Pike, collector. These officers were then sworn " to y* faith- 
ful Discharge of their Respective Trusts," and thus the Second 
or West Parish of Dunstable was fairly organized, and started 
on its eventful way. 

As the custom was in those days, a few persons were held 
in Dunstable as slaves, and the following curious paper relat- 
ing to the sale of one of them is still preserved : — 



1755] COST OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. gj 

Dunstable, September ye loth, 1756. 
Received of Mr. John Abbott, junior of Andover, Fourteen pounds 
Thirteen shillings and Two pence. It being the full value of a Negrow 
Garl, Named Dinah, about five years of Age of a Healthy Sound Constitu- 
tion, free of any disease of Body and I Do hereby Deliver the Same Garl 
to the said Abbott and Promise to Defend him in the Improvement of 
hear, as his Servan forever. Witness my hand, 

Robert Blood. 
John Kendall. 
Temple Kendall. 

The paper has this indorsement : — 

"Oct. 28, New Stile, 1756. This day the Within Named Girl was 
Five years old." 

Robert Blood lived on the place now occupied by Dexter 
Butterfield, and many stories are told of his peculiarities. He 
is said to have called an Indian doctor to prescribe for him in 
a case of sickness ; but fearing lest the medicine might con- 
tain poison, he administered it to his negro boy, who died 
from its effects. The place of his burial is called to this 
day " Negro Hill." A sheriff once came into church to arrest 
Mr. Blood, who, seeing his pursuer, raised his handkerchief to 
his nose as if it were bleeding, and quietly left the meeting. 
On being asked afterwards why he left the church so sud- 
denly, he said, " The sons of God came to present themselves 
before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." (Job i, 6.) 
His wife was a noted swimmer, and frequently swam across 
the Merrimack River. She was, however, drowned at last, as 
it is said, among the lily-pads of Massapoag Pond. 

At a meeting of the Second Parish, held Nov. 20, 1755, it 
was voted that ;^20 be assessed " for y« Suport of y^ Gospel 
for y^ present year " ; also that a committee, consisting of 
Ensign Ebenezer Parkhurst, John Steel, and Joseph Fletcher, 
" search into y^ accounts of how much Preaching we have Had 
in said meeting house " ; and John Steel, Samuel Taylor, and 
Adforth Jaquith were appointed a committee to take a deed of 
Lieut. John Kendall and Ebenezer Butterfield " of y^ land y* 
meeting house stands on." 

At a meeting of the parish, Dec. 10, it was found that the 
account for constructing the church edifice was £,'j^ a^s. iid., 



Q2 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l757 

and the committee reported that " the preaching we have had 
in Said Meeting house and y° Intertaining y^ Ministers" 
amounts to ;£^44 is. Who these ministers were appears from 
various orders of the parish. At a meeting, held March 6, 
1756, the sum of ;^4 was "ordered out to Mr. Josiah Good- 
hue for preaching four . sabbaths " ; and also to Ebenezer 
Kendall four shillings "for Intertaining Mr. Josiah Goodhue 
one week." So, again, March 25, the parish " ordered out to 
Ebenezer Kendall ^^3 os. 2>d. 2grs. for money he has paid to 
Mr. perry for preaching " ; also to Ebenezer Sherwin, £2 4s. 
<^d. which "he has paid to Mr. Joseph perry for preaching" ; 
also to Abraham Kendall £,a, z^s. \d. " which he has paid to 
Mr. Cotton* for preaching"; also "to Mr. Timothy Minot 
[H. C. 1747], y^ sum of Six Pounds for his Preaching six days 
with us in our Meeting house" ; also " to Mr. Holyoak f ^9 
I2s. for Preaching 9 days." 

Of these several candidates, who received for their Sabbath 
services about jCi, together with their " Intertainment," Mr. 
Josiah Goodhue (H. C. 1755) was the favored one ; and so at 
a meeting of the parish, Sept. 23, 1756, it was voted to give 
him " a call to y^ Work of y*^ Ministry with us in This Second 
Precinct of y^ Town of Dunstable." 

Mr. Goodhue presented his acceptance of the invitation 
at the meeting held March 15, 1757, under the following 
conditions : — 

1. That you give me ^120 for settlement to be paid in ye manner you 
voted the settlement. 

2. Fifty pounds as salary yearly, as long as I stand in ye Relation of 
a pastor to this People. 

3. Twenty-five cords of wood yearly Brouglit cord wood Length to 
my Door. 

4. That if Providence should order it that you should consist of 
Eighty Rateable Families, then ye salary to be Sixty Pounds. 

Josiah Goodhue. 

March y' 15, 1757. 

* This was the Rev. Josiah Cotton (H. C. 1722), who was called to settle over 
the First Church in Dunstable, N. H., Nov. 27, 1758, and the day of his ordination 
appointed; but a quarrel ensuing in the parish, he fortunately did not become its 
minister, 

t The Rev. Eh'zur Ilolyoke (II, C. 1750). 



1757] CHURCH COVENANT. q3 

The parish voted to comply with these conditions. On the 
twelfth day of May, 1757, a church was organized, consisting 
of thirty-eight members, nineteen of whom were males and 
nineteen females. 

The covenant, virtually the same as that of the First Church 
at Plymouth, was probably drawn up by the Rev. Daniel 
Emerson, of Hollis, N. H., and was formally accepted in his 
presence. 

A CHH COVENANT, DUNSTABLE, MAY Y" la"-, 1757. 

Then ye underwritten Brethren solemly Covenanted before God, & one 
with another by owning this Covenant before me, & accordingly were 
declared a Chh of our Lord Jesus Christ, regularly incorporated pr Me 
Daniel Emerson. 

We whose Names are underwritten do covenant with the Lord, & one 
with another & do Solemnly bind ourselves before the Lord & his People 
that we will, by the Strength of Christ, walk after the Lord In all his 
ways, as He hath revealed them to us in his Word. 

1. We avouch the Lord Jehovah to be our God & give up ourselves with 
our Children after us, in their several Generations, to be his People, & 
that in the Sincerity & Truth of our Hearts. 

2. We give up ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, to be ruled & 
guided by Him in the matter of His Worship & in our whole Conversa- 
tion acknowledging him not only our alone Saviour, but also our King, 
to rule over us, as well as our Prophet, to teach us by His Word and 
Spirit : accordingly we wholly disclaim our own Righteousness in Point 
of Justification, cleaving to Him for Righteousness, Life, Grace, & Glory. 

3. We promise by the Help of Christ to walk with our Brethren & 
Sisters of the Chh in the Spirit of Love, watching over them & caring 
for them, avoiding all Jealousies, Suspissions, Backbiting^ Censurings, 
Ouarrellings, & Secret Risings of Heart against them forgiving & for- 
bearing, yet seasonably admonishing & restoring them with a Spirit of 
Meekness, who through Infirmities have been overtaken in a Fault. 

4. We will not be forward in chh Meetings to show our Gifts & Parts 
in Speaking, nor endeavour to disgrace our Brethren by discovering their 
Failings, but attend an orderly Call before we Speak,- doing nothing to 
the offence of the chh ; but in all things endeavouring our own & our 
Brethrens Edification. 

5. We further promise to Study how we may advance the Gospel & 
Kingdom of Christ so as that we may gain them who are without, Setle 
Peace among ourselves & Seek the Peace of all the chhs not puting a 
Stumbling Block before any but Shunning the Appearance of Evil. 

6. We promise to demean ourselves obediently in all lawful things 
towards those God has or shall place over us in Chh or Common Wealth. 



94 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



L'757 



7. We resolve in the same Strength to approve ourselves in our par- 
ticular Callings, shunning Idleness nor will we oppress any we deal with. 

8. We also promise as God shall inable us to teach our Children & 
Servants the good Knowledge of the Lord & to fuUfill all relative 
Duties prescribed in Gods Word that all ours may learn to fear & Serve 
the Lord ourselves, to this End we promise to keep up ye Worship of God 
in our Families that our Houses shall be Bethels wherein ye 'morning & 
Evening Sacrifice shall assend. 

9. We do profess ourselves to be Congregational in our Judgments 
& do hereby promise mutually one unto another that we will practice 
on Congregational Principles which according to our understandings are 
most agreable to the Directions of Gods Word ; & will take the Plat- 
form of Discipline to be our Rule to go by in all matters of chh DiscipHne 
among us which we look on as gathered out of the Word of God & 
asfreeinir therewithal!. 



JosiAH Goodhue, Pastor. 
Joseph Pike. 
John Kendall. 

EUENEZER ShERWIN. 
EbENEZER BuTTERI'IELD. 

Samuel Taylor. 
Josiah Blodgett. 
Ebenezer Kendall. 
Adford Jaquh'H. 
Timothy Read. 
Stephen Adams. 
Joseph Taylor. 
Samuel Cummings. 
Benjamin Rohbins. 
John Swallow. 
Susannah Kendall. 
Alice BuHI'ereikld. 
Susannah Taylor. 
Jemima Blodgett. 



Hannah Kendall. 
Olive Taylor. 
Sarah Cummings. 
Elizabeth Robbins. 
Elizabeth Goodhue. 
Joseph Fletcher. 
Abraham Kendall. 
John Cummings. 
Robert Blood. 
Sarah Swallow. 
Elizabeth Fletcher. 
Ruth Kendall. 
Elizabeth Cummings. 
Sarah Blood. 
Sarah Parkhurst. 
Mary Cummings. 
Hannah Taylor. 
Susannah Haywood. 
Abigail Blood. 



The 8th of June was fixed upon for the ordination of Mr. 
Goodhue, and it may well be supposed that the people of the 
West Parish were now full of life and excitement in making 
preparations for the great occasion. New dresses had to be 
purchased and made, or the old ones repaired and put into 
decent order ; houses had to be cleansed, larders replenished, 
supplies of rum obtained, — for in those days nothing, from a 
marriage to a funeral, could be done without it, — the tunes in 
the Bay Psalm Book had to be rehearsed, and the church to 



1757] HALF-WAY COVENANT. q^ 

be put in trim for the solemn and yet gladsome services. At 
a Parish meeting the day after the formation of the church, it 
was agreed " that y'' gallary floors should be Laid Down, and 
y^ Breast Work put up, y^ Pillars and one pair of Stars & two 
Doors and also y^ Body of Seats be Built." It was also voted 
at the same time to secure land for " a Burrying Place & to 
take a Deed of y'= same." This sacred spot, on the westerly 
slope of Meeting-House Hill, contains head-stones bearing the 
names of several of the original founders of the church, and 
though now covered with poplar, birch, sumac, pine, and wal- 
nut trees, growing rankly over blueberry-bushes, sweet-fern, 
and golden-rod, still has associations and sermons for the 
reflective mind, such as the voice of the living preacher cannot 
bring. 

Mr. Goodhue, then not two years from Harvard College, 
was ordained as pastor over the church on the eighth day of 
June, 1757. In the records of the church, which were well 
kept by him during his ministry, he says, "June y'^ 8''' i757, 
I was Solemly Seperated to y^ Work of y^ Gospel Ministry 
and ordained to y^ Pastoral Office Over y'^ Chh of Christ in 
y^ 2^ Parish of Dunstable. The Rev"^ Joseph Emerson of Pep- 
perill began y^ Solemn Exercises of y' Day with Prayer ; 
The Rev^ Daniel Emerson Preached y'' Sermon from Luke 
29"^ 60''' Phinehas Hemenway of Tovvnshend gave y*^ Charge: 
And the Rev^ Daniel Willkins of Souhegion gave The right 
Hand of Fellowship." 

The first baptism of an infant performed by Mr. Goodhue 
was that of" Jonathan y^ son of John & Sarah swallow " ; the 
first marriage, that of " Oliver Farnsworth of Townshend & 
Jemima Haywood of Dunstable," which occurred Nov. 2, 
1757- The Half- Way Covenant was then in vogue, admitting 
persons acknowledging the "Confession of Faith" as their 
belief to some of the privileges of the church, and hence the 
record of an admission to the church is made in accordance 
with the views of the member received in respect to this point. 
Thus the first persons who united with the church after its for- 
mation were Thomas Adams and Ruth, his wife, who were 
"admitted into full communion, July 3*^ 1757," while Robert 



96 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1757 



Blood, Jr., and Abigail his wife " were admitted to Y Privi- 
lidge of owning y*^ Covenant, Oct^ y^ 9''^ I757-" Much the 
larger number entered the church as "full communionists." 
At the second meeting of the church, July ir, 1757, it was 
voted that "^40 5^-. & ^d. Old Tenor," should be used " in 
procuring furniture for y« Table of y^ Lord in this Place (viz.) 
a Table Cloth, a Napkin, two Flaggons, two Tankerds, six 
cups, three platters & likewise a Bayson for y^ use of y*^ ch'\" 

At the next meeting, Aug. 3, Ebenezer Sherwin was chosen 
a deacon, and the first communion was held on the first Sab- 
bath in this month. On the 31st of March ensuing, Samuel 
Taylor was chosen as the second deacon. 

The bounds between Dunstable and Groton were examined 
and reviewed in April, 1756, and the line then commencing at 
Tyng's Corner passed on the easterly side of the old saw-mill, 
which stood where Cowpen Brook enters Massapoag Pond, "on 
the southerly side of the road that goes by Ebenezer Proctors 
in Dunstable, and terminated at a heap of stones on Flat 
Rock Hill." Feb. 15, 1757, a highway was laid out from the 
Province line by Joseph Danforth's barn, and thence onward 
to David Taylor's house. 

It appears that each member of the parish built his own pew 
in the meeting-house, on a spot selected by himself, and that 
those who paid the heaviest taxes were entitled to the first 
choice. The names of the most fortunate were thus quaintly 
recorded by John Steel, the parish clerk : — 

Dunstable, October ye 21st, 1757. 
An acount of y" Names of y° Fifteen Higest Payers which was to 
Draw y" Pew Ground as They were voted By y° Second Parish in Dun- 
stable first of all : — 



Joseph Fletcher y" ist 
Ebenr Parkhurst y" 2d 
Samuel Taylor y" 3d 
Cajit John Cumings y" 4th 
John Steel y" 5th 
Abraham Kendall y" 6th 
Ebenr Proctor y" 7th 
Lt John Kendall y" 8th 
Ens. John Swallow y° 9th 



No 


8 


No 


9 


No 


•3 


No 


2 


No 


•5 


No 


7 


No 


4 


No 


I 


No 


3 



1758] 



SURVEY OF THE SECOND PARISH. 



97 



Joseph Spaulding y° loth 
Timothy Read y" nth 
Ebenr Butterfield y° 12th 
David Taylor y" 13th . 
Josiah Blodgett y° 14th 
Joseph Taylor y^ 15th 





No 14 


. 


No 10 




No 12 


. 


No 5 




No 6 




No II 


John Steel. 


(. /^^i. 


Ebenr Sherwin 


> CO??l 



These Numbers annexed to their names is ye Number of each Pew 
Ground as ye Comtee laid them out, and each man has chosen that Num- 
ber annexed after his name. 

It was voted, on the 7th day of December following, " to lay 
out all y^ money ^210 I2i-. that comes by The Pew Ground 
in glass for y*^ windows of said house & to putting them up & 
in providing Boards for y*^ Pulpet." 

At a meeting, March 7, 1758, the parish voted for the 
church " 26 windows & 23 of sd windows Be 24 squares of 
glass in Each window that the 2 gavel End windows Be 15 
squairs Each & the pulpit window is Left to the Descretion of 
the parish committe." This consisted of Ensign John Swallow,* 
Joseph Fletcher, and Abraham Kendall. Thus by degrees the 
old church on Meeting-House Hill was brought towards its 
completion. 

As the territory of the Second Parish was indistinctly defined, 
a committee, consisting of Deacon Ebenezer Sherwin, Timothy 
Read, and Joseph Fletcher, was chosen in April of the ensuing 
year, 

" To petition the Great & General Cort of this Province that They will 
Be pleased to appoint a Sevayor to Run a North & South Line By the 
Westerdly End of M"" Simon Thomsons Dwelling House a greable to 
the order of sd Honorable Cort By which this 2d parish was Errected to 



* He was the first settler of the name in Dunstable, and built the house 
where his descendant, Aipheus Swallows, Esq., now resides. He is buried in the 
little cemetery near by, and the inscription on his headstone, ornamented with the 
rude image of an angel's head, is — 

" Memento mori. 
Here lies the body of Ensign John Swallow who departed this life Feb. 5 1776 
aged 66 years & 5 months & 21 days." 
7 



q8 history of DUNS'lABLE. [l759 

be the East Line of sd parish & that sd parish may Bound Southardly 

upon the farm Belonging to M^ John Tyng that Lyeth in the Southardly 

part of sd Dunstable & also Westerdly upon Groton & Northardly upon 

the Province Line & that all the Lands in sd Bounds Be the 2d parish 

in Dunstable. 

"John Swallow, 

" Parish Clerk.^'' 

March 5, 1759, the town voted that £.\6 should be assessed 
for "y^ suport of a school, or schools," and that it should be 
" a Writting school as well as a Reading school," also, that " it 
should be a moveing school." 

The town was well represented in the old French War, which 
commenced in 1755, and was closed by the Treaty of Paris in 
1763. 

Ensign John Cheney and William Blodgett were at the sur- 
render of Louisburg to the English, July 26, 1758. Their 
powder-horns are still preserved. That of Ensign John 
Cheney is elaborately ornamented with birds, fishes, deer, and 
the letters " F. C. W." ; it has also the incription, " John 
Cheney his Horn, Cape Breton. Taken May 26, 1758." This 
horn is now in the possession of Mr. Thomas F. Cheney, depot- 
master in Dunstable. The horn of William Blodgett is now 
owned by Mr. George T. Blodgett, and bears this inscription : 
" William Blodget his horn, June y^ 7 1760." It is covered 
with pictures of various animals, displaying the genius of the 
original owner. 

Col. Ebcnczer Bancroft, born April i, 1738, and died Sept. 
22, 1827, was an ensign in Capt. John Goffe's company in Col. 
Joseph Blanchard's regiment, and served through the war. 
Others in the service were Simeon Blood, James French, 
Ebenezer French, John Harwood, John Gilson, Joshua Wright, 
Ephraim Butterfield, Benjamin Butterfield, Jonathan Wood- 
ward, the miller of Massapoag, who was at the siege of Mon- 
treal under Gen. Wolfe ; Thomas Woodward, who was killed in 
Canada by the Indians ; John Woodward, who was also killed 
during the war ; and Samuel Taylor, who died at Lake George, 
Nov. 14, 1755. 

Dec. II, 1759, a highway was laid out from John Steel's 
house to that of Deacon Ebenezer Sherwin, " two rods wide." 



1760] '^^^E AC AD JANS. gg 

It was the custom in those days for the men to occupy the 
seats on one side of the church, and the women those on the 
other. The elders sat upon an elevated seat in iVont of the 
pulpit, and the children and servants occupied the galleries. 
A tythingman, with a long pole, kept them all in order. A 
glimpse of the arrangement of the seats may be had from 
a record of a public sale made November, 1759. 

" Sold to ye Highest Bidder the Two Hind Seats in the Body of Seats 
in y<= 2d parish Meting House the one half of ye Wimmings too hind 
Seats Next To ye middle alle to Mr Ebenr Kendall for ^^3 5^-. 4c/. law, 
the Next on the mens Side Next to ye middle alle to sd Eben"" Kendall 
for £2 lys. 4.d. & then ye other Half of ye wimmings too Hind Seats 
Next to the stairs To M Benja. Pike for £2 is. 4c/. & then the other Half 
of the mens too Hind Seats Next to ye place where the mens Stairs are 
to B Built To M'' Abraham Kendall for £2 o o. 

" Samuel Comings, 

^^Vandite A/aster.'''' 

The parish voted, March 10, 1760, "and chose Edward Ken- 
dall to sweep the Meting House and take Caif of the Gushing 
& six Shillings Be his wages for the same." The selectmen 
this year were Eleazer Tyng, Major John A. Tyng, and Joseph 
Danforth, all of whom resided in that part of the town which 
is now Tyngsborough. Temple Kendall was the '• Sealer of 
Lether," and ^15 were appropriated for the " suporte of 
schools." John Steel, the faithful clerk of the West Parish, 
died this year on the i8th of August, and was buried on Meet- 
ing-House Hill. 

He was highly respected, and by his death the town was 
called to experience a heavy loss Wdliam H. Prentice was 
chosen town clerk in 1760, and the records under his hand are 
made in a better style. 

In August of this year a part of a family of the Acadians, or 
French Neutrals, whose melancholy fate is so touchingly told 
in the " Evangeline " of H. VV. Longfellow, was brought to 
this town for support. The family was large, and thus divided : 
Dunstable took Peter Landeree and Sarah his wife, also 
Peter Landeree, Jr. ; Dracut, Mary Landeree and Elizabeth 
Landeree ; while Tewksbury took Mary Magdalene and Jane 



lOO HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1761 

Landeree. It would be interesting to know the fate of this 
divided househould, but on this point the records are silent. 
Some of the Landerees were also supported by the town of 
Billerica, where one of them at least remained till about the 
time of the Revolution. 

The lines established between the neighboring towns or 
parishes were guarded with jealous care, and frequently sur- 
veyed. On the i6th of September, I76[, the line between 
Dunstable and Groton, so recently fixed by the General Court, 
was " perambulated," and it then passed from a pillar of stones 
on Flat Rock Hill, southerly "near Mr. Robin's field," thence 
west of Joseph Fletcher's house, thence " to Old Angle 
Meadow," and so on to the mouth of Cowpen Brook, where it 
enters Massapoag Pond. This left the large tract of land 
called Unketynassett still in Groton. 

A committee chosen to petition the General Court that* the 
parish be made a district, presented the following report, which 
was accepted Jan. 24, 1761, by the House of Representa- 
tives: — • 

" Having herd ye parties & Considered thereon (they) are of oppinnion 
that to prevent all Controversies the Bounds of Sd presink ought to be as 
fallows, viz., easterly on a north & south Line By the meridian running 
from ye province Line By ye West End of Simon Tomsons House to 
Capt John Tyngs Land & Bounded Southerly By Sd Tyngs Land westerly 
on Groton Line & Northerly on ye Province Line, Saving that ye Land 
within Sd Bounds Belonging To Eleazer Tyngs and Sd John Tyngs shall 
Continue To remain to the first Parish in Dunstable; and saving also that 
The Land Belonging to ye Inhabitants of sd first parish Lying adjoining 
on ye west side of sd North and South Line Shall Remain to sd first 
parish & that ye Lands adjoyning on ye Est Side of sd Line which Belongs 
to ye Inhabitants of sd 2d parish Shall Be & Remain to ye sd 2d parish & 
that a Sevayor Be appointed By this Cort to run sd Line & Erect Bounds 
& monvmients therein & make Report thereof." 

Benjamin Lincoln, Esq., was appointed to make the survey, 
and the charge therefor was to be borne equally between the 
First and Second Parish. 

It is interesting to observe that the acceptance of this 
report is signed by the great James Otis as Speaker of the 
House of Representatives. 



1762] 



MEMBERS OF THE FIRST PARISH. 



lOI 



At a meeting of the Second Parish, Feb. 12, 1761, Joseph 
Danforth was chosen committee-man and an assessor "In y^ 
room & sted of M"" John Steel Late of Dunstable Deceased," 
and on the 29th of Jiine ensuing the parish "Then votted & 
grantted to Be assessed 1-13-0 for Col Linkon Running y^ 
Line Between Y Two parrishes in Dunstable. John Swallow, 
Parish Clerk." 

The town chose, Feb. 24, 1761, Capt. Jonathan Butterfield 
"Deer Reef," and on May 25 it voted to raise £\6 for the 
support of a school, and \%s. for not having one in 1758. 

It appears that at this time the members of the parish had 
become somewhat remiss in respect to the delivery of the 
Rev. Josiah Goodhue's twenty-five cords of wood in due season, 
since at the meeting held March 2, 1762, the parish "Then 
votted and chose a Com*<='' (Josiah Blodgett, Adford Jaquith 
and Jeremiah Cummings) to Se that M"" Goodhue have his 
wood By the time above fixed (Jan"" ist) or git it themselves." 

The town at this period was increasing in population, and 
the First Parish, or precinct, consisted of the following persons : 



Eleazer Tyng. 
John Tyng. 
John A. Ty'ng. 
James Tyng. 
Wm. H. Prentice. 
Wm. Gordon. 
Robert P'letcher. 
Samuel Gould. 
Joseph Butterfield. 
Reuben Butterfield. 
John Perham. 
Joseph Perham. 
James Per'ham. 
Jacob Fletcher. 
Elijah Fletcher. 
Zaccheus Spaulding. 
Samuel Gould. 
Thomas Jewell. 
Benoni Jewell. 
John Ingles. 
Jonathan Perham. 
Samuel Fletcher. . 
John Littlehale. 
Abraham Littlehale. 



Timothy Bancroft. 
Jonathan Butterfield. 
Jonathan Farwell. 
Joseph Winn. 
Eleazer Farwell. 
Benjamin Farwell. 
Simon Thompson. 
Nathan Thompson. 
Ezra Thompson. 
Silas Thompson. 
Asa Thompson. 
John Alls. 
Thomas Estabrook. 
Thomas Estabrook, Jr. 
Timothy Barron. 
>Vm. Barron. 
Robert Scott. 
Jacob Read. 
John Scott. 
WiLLARD Hall. 
John Lewis. 
Reuben Lewis. 
Archibald Robinson. 
Joseph French, Esq. 



102 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1763 

I.r. John Varnum. Oliver Colkurn. 

JaRMES LiTTLEHAlK. EZRA COTJiURN. 

Daniel Fi.f.tcher. Joseph Ayres. 

John Didson John Haddock. 

Samuel Howard. John Hamllet. 

Total, 58. 

Of the above, the Butterfield, Fletcher, Gould, Colburn, 
Perham, Hamblet, and Varnum families hvcd on the east side 
of the Merrimack River, which they were obliged to cross by 
means of a ferry-boat owned by the town. On the 4th of 
February, 1755, they were prevented from voting by reason of 
the high water in the river. 

Although money was annually raised by the First Parish for 
the support of the gospel, no minister had as yet been settled, 
nor church organized. Much of the land was owned by the 
Tyng family, and was very sparsely inhabited. The mill of 
William Gordon, on Bridge Meadow Brook, was the general 
rendezvous of the people, who were at this period in a com- 
paratively prosperous condition. 

In October, 1762, the town chose Joseph Danforth, William 
Gordon, and Josiah Blodgett to show cause to the Court why 
Dunstable " should not be at any charg of building or Repair- 
ing a Bridg over Concord River Billerica." 

Joseph Danforth, Lemuel Perham, and Abraham Kendall 
were chosen committee-men of the Second Parish, March 14, 
1763, and it " Then votted and chose Thaddeus Comings and 
Oliver Taylor to sweep the meting House & Take Cair of y*^ 
Gushing & Baptizing Bason for y'^ Ensuing year and Six Shil- 
lings Be there wages for y^ same." It also " Then Votted & 
allowed Asa Kendalls accompt i-io-io for making y® Parish 
Pew & Half one window." 

In Mr. Goodhue's records of the church, it is stated, under 
the date of Dec. i r, 1763, that "The man Servant & maid 
Servant of Benjamin Farwell were propounded in order to 
their owning the Covenant [Nov. y^ -^"j] and admitted to }' 
Priviledge, Decem. y" 11 ''\" Their names were Thomas and 
Margaret, and they were probably held as slaves. 

A thunder-storm passed over the town on the 15th of June 
of this year, when hailstones fell nearly as large as a hen's ^^g, 



1766] THE FIRST CENSUS. IO3 

by which the early grain was beaten down and the glass of 
several windows broken. 

The officers of the Second Parish for 1764 were Joseph Dan- 
forth, Jacob Kendall, Lemuel Perham, committee-men and 
assessors, Deacon Samuel Taylor, treasurer, Edward Kendall, 
collector, and John Swallow, clerk. They were sworn into 
office after the customary form, as seen from the following 
record : — 

" After Having Taken y^ oath Proschribed By Law Concerning ye Bils 
of ye Neighbouring Goverments was Sworn to ye Trust & faithful Dis- 
charg of ye Respective offices to which they were Chosen March ye 12th 
1764 Before me John Swallow parish Clerk." 

Joseph Fletcher was chosen a deacon of the church, Feb. 23, 
1764. and at the same meeting it was voted that " Brother Abra- 
ham Kendall, Brother Josiah Blodgett and Brother Sam" Cum- 
ings be Oueresters in y'^ Congregation." These men probably 
were expected " to set the tunes," — for assistance in which a 
que'er sort of a wooden instrument, called a pitch-pipe, was 
used, — and also to lead the voices of the people in the singing. 
The " lining out of the psalm " was generally done by the pas- 
tor or one of the deacons. 

The town chose. May 27, 1765, Robert Blood and Josiah 
Blodgett "to inspect the Salmon & Fishery according to law." 
No dams had then been constructed on the Merrimack or 
Nashua Rivers, to prevent the ascent of fish, and Salmon 
Brook and Massapoag Pond were teeming with shad, salmon, 
alewives, and other fish, which were of great value to the inhab- 
itants. 

The first general census of the population of the province 
was taken this year, and by it Dunstable appears to have had 
in all 90 dwelling-houses, 98 families, 138 males above sixteen, 
143 females above sixteen, and a total of 559 inhabitants, of 
whom 16 were colored people, and probably held as slaves* Of 
the thirty-six towns in the county, Bedford, Dracut, Natick, 
Shirley, Stoneham, only had a smaller population. 

The selectmen of 1766 were Joseph Danforth, William 

* See abstract of the Census of Mass., i860, p. 255. 



I04 HISTORY OF DUASTABLE. [1768 

Gordon, owner of the saw and grist mill near the mouth of 
Bridge Meadow Brook, and Jeremiah Cummings ; and Eben- 
ezer French was the " Deer Reef." ^8 were voted this year 
for Dublic schools. 

A special meeting of the Second Parish was held June 30, 
when it was voted to build a pulpit, for which ^4 12s. had 
been contributed, and £4. were raised by the parish. Deacon 
Samuel Taylor, Ensign John Swallow, and Mr, Robert Blood 
were chosen to " Carry on y^ work," and it was voted that 
" They Build the pulpit Like that in Pepril meting House," 
and " as Desent as they Coiild for y^ money subscribed & 
voted to be raised." 

There seems to have been some misunderstanding in regard 
to this sacred desk, for on the 9th of March, 1767, the parish 
"Voted Not to Build a Pulpit," so that for sometime longer 
the Rev. Mr. Goodhue was obliged to dispense the gospel from 
the rude platform erected soon after the raising of the meeting- 
house. 

The town voted, on the 25th of May of this year, " to Raise 
& assest jQl6 2s. for the use of a school, Repairing the pound. 
Building one pair of Stocks & other Town charges." The 
pound in the west part stood and still stands beside the road 
from Dunstable Centre to Tyngsborough Centre, a little east- 
ward of the homestead of Dexter Butterfield. The stocks? 
sometimes called the "cage," stood in the vicinity of the 
respective churches, and the whipping-post hard by them ; 
but I find no record of such an instrument on the books of the 
town or parish. 

In accordance with the custom of the times, the Second 
Parish chose, April 21, 1768, Deacon Samuel Taylor, Benja- 
min Woodward, and Robert Blood a committee " to seat this 
meeting house and that the Highest Payers in the Last years 
Tax on the Reail and Personal Estate to be the Rule to Seat 
S'^ house By and farther that thay have No Regard to the 
Proprietors of the Pews in S'' house in seating the meeting 
house." It was voted also to have regard to age in seating 
the meeting-house, also " to Peticion to the Great and Genrel 
Court to Be maid a Destrect." 



1768] A PROTEST. 105 

To the action of this meeting in respect to one article, 
Robert Blood, Benj. Pike, Josiah Blodgett, and Lemuel Perham 
presented severally a protest. Among the reasons assigned 
by the latter, one is, " Because thay voted that M"" Joseph Pike 
Should Sett in the fore seat when thire was Nothing in the 
Warrant thire." 

The desire of occupying the first seats in the synagogue 
seems to have been as strong as in the days of the Scribes and 
the Pharisees. Does not a little of that spirit, in some of our 
churches, linger still .'' 



I06 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1768 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Bkginning of the American Revolution. — First Action of the Town 

RESPECTING IT. — ThE ToWN DIVIDED INTO SCHOOL DISTRICTS. — ThE 

Rev. Josiah Goodhue dismissed. — His Character. — Committee ok 
Inspkctiom. — A Patriotic Pledge. — Minute Men. — Battle of 
Bunker Hill. — Heroic Action of Jonas and William French. — 
Mkmbers ofCapt. Oliver Cummings's Company. — Of the Alarm List. 
— List of the Training Band, 1776. — The Alarm List. — Names of 
Those in the Army. — A Spirited Resolution. — Letters from James 
Cummings. — A Warrant of Capt. Oliver Cummings. — Tories. — 
Warrant for a Draft of Men. — Foreigners hired. — Enlistments. — 
Activity and Expenses of the Second Parish in hiring and paying 
SoLniF.RS. — List of Men engaged in the Service and their Pay. 

" Every settler's hearth was a school of independence ; the scholars 
were apt, and the lessons sunk deeply ; and thus it came that our country 
was always free." Francis W. P. Greenwood. 

" They left the ploughshare in the mould, 
Their flocks and herds without a fold, 
The sickle in the unshorn grain, 
The corn half garnered on the plain. 
And mustered in their simple dress, 
P'or wrongs to seek a stern redress, 
To right those wrongs, come weal, come woe. 
To perish, or o'ercome their foe." I. McLellax, Jr. 

The town voted in 1768 "to build the bridge with stone 
over Biscake Brook." William Henry Prentice and Jonathan 
Holden were to a.ssist John Perham,* the surveyor of high- 

* He was probably the son of Joseph Perham, boin in Chelmsford, Oct. 22, 
1669, who purchased land and settled near Joseph Butterfield on the east side of 
the Merrimack River in 171 1. He married Dorothy Kidder, and had eleven 
children, one of whom, born in 1716, was named John. His neighbor, Lieut. Joseph 
Butterfield, came also from Chelmsford, where he was born June 6, 16S0, and 
lived in a garrison house, built on land purchased of Samuel Scarlett. His sons 
bore the names of Joseph, Benjamin, and Reuben. One of his daughters married 
a Hogg, who subsequently had his name changed to Moore, but this onJy made 
the mailer worse, for he was then called " More Hog." 



jjCS] THE REVOLUTION. iq-j 

ways, in its execution. This brook is the httle stream that 
enters the Merrimack River near the depot at Tyngsboroiigh 
Centre. 

But matters of higher moment now began to engross the 
attention of the people. The repeated acts of Biitish aggres- 
sion on the rights of the American colonies had become insup- 
portable, and Massachusetts issued a circular on the 28th of 
February of this year, asking the co-operation of the assem- 
blies in opposing the obnoxious measures of Parliament. The 
principles of civil liberty, long germinating in the breasts of 
the people, were now to come into collision with the arbitrary 
and unjust decisions of the British ministry. 

To quell the popular demonstrations, Gen. Thomas Gage, 
with seven hundred soldiers, entered Boston on the twenty- 
eighth day of September, when it soon became evident that 
" armed oppression must be met by armed resistance." 

In the tremendous struggle which ensued, Dunstable was 
true to the cause of liberty, and freely shed its best blood in 
the defence of those " inalienable rights " which form the solid 
basis of the temple of our national freedom. The first recorded 
act of the town in the impending crisis was " to choose the 
Hon. John Tyng, Esq.,* to act for them at Boston on the 
twenty-second day of September, 1768, in convention with 
such as may be sent to join him from the several Towns in this 
Province, in order that such measures may be consulted & 
advised as his majesty's service and the peace and safety of his 
subjects in the Province may require." Ninety-eight towns sent 
delegates to this convention, which was called by the select- 
men of Boston "to deliberate on constitutional measures and 
to obtain redress of their grievances," in consequence of the 
dissolution of the General Court by the orderof Gov. Francis 
Bernard. 

In November following (the 2Sth) the town voted ^20 for 

* Son of Major John Tyng, who was mortally wounded by the Indians between 
Groton and Concord, and carried to the latter place, where he died. in 171 1. He 
was born in 1700, and died in 1797. He married Mary Wardw'ell, of llostnn. 
Their daughter Mary, born in 1739, married the Hon. John Pitts, and dii.d in 
1781. 



I08 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [17/2 

the use of a school ; and also " to provide a sufficient cjuan- 
tity of ammunition for a town stock." This latter vote was 
significant. 

In 1769 the town chose five instead of three selectmen. 
They were Joseph Danforth, Abraham Kendall, Joseph Fletch- 
er, Ebenezer Bancroft, and Joel Parkhurst, all men of genuine 
patriotism and sterling woith. The sum of £^,6 \os. was ap- 
propriated to -the purchase of ammunition and ;^20 for the 
use of a school ; three shillings were allowed for a day's work. 
Ezra Blood and his wife Eunice, also Josiah, Sarah, Ezra, and 
Hannah Blood, came in September from Mason, N. H., to reside 
in Dunstable. 

On the 15th of August, 1770, the town was called to mourn 
the loss of Capt. John Cummings, who had held many public 
offices, and who died " in y® 75 year of his age." The assess- 
ment of the Second Parish this year was £,^ i 8^. 2qrs., together 
with 25 cords of wood for the minister, at 4^-. per cord. 

John Kendall and Amaziah Swallow were chosen " to repair 
y*' pound." 

The Boston massacre, March 5, taxation without represen- 
tation, pledges against the use of tea and foreign manufactures^ 
formed the leading topics of conversation in the tavern, shops, 
and homes of Dunstable, and the old firelocks used in the 
French War, a few of which remain to this day, were quietly 
put into effective order. 

March 4, 1771, Joseph Danforth was chosen town clerk, and 
the selectmen then elected were Ebenezer Bancroft, Joel Park- 
hurst, Jonathan Fletcher, Benjamin Woodward, and Nathaniel 
H olden. Ebenezer French was chosen deer reeve, and ^24 
were appropriated for educational and other purposes. 

In 1772 Nathaniel Balston, of Boston, sold to John Tyng, Esq., 
of Dunstable, three hundred and fifty acres of land, bounded 
easterly by l^rattle's farm, southerly by Tyng's farm, westerly 
by Massapoag Pond, and northerly by land formerly owned by 
Edward Cowell. Thomas Cooper, of P^ort Pownal, quitclaimed 
the land. Ebenezer Nutting, his wife and four children, came 
to reside in town, Dec. 25, from Groton. Even to that date 
people had to obtain permission to settle in the town. 



17741 '^^^ ^^^^- 70S! AH GOODHUE. 109 

In the same year the town voted £^4. for educational and 
other purposes. In 1773 the town appropriated ;^20 for a 
school. It laid out a " town way, two rods wide," from " the 
Provence line," commencing north of John Kendall's house, 
and running by Temple Kendall's house "to the road that was 
laid out by said Kendalls and Samuel Taylors house." It 
appears that there was a growing disaffection towards the Rev. 
Mr. Goodhue, but for what reason the records do not state. 
Some of the members of the parish declined to pay their rates, 
and the twenty-five cords of wood were not promptly piled up 
at his door. Contention and ill will so far prevailed that the 
parish voted, March 8, 1773, not to be assessed for his salary, 
either in money or in wood, for that or the preceding year ; 
and on the 28th of September following, it voted " to Dismis 
the Reverend Josiah Goodhue from any Relation that he 
Standeth in to this Second Parish in the Town of Dunstable." 

The pastor was determined to have his dues, and so on the 
eleventh day of August, 1774, issued a writ against the parish 
for ^175 in lawful money, and eighty-seven and a half cords , 
of wood, of the value, says the writ, "of ^21 17^-. 6d. of Like 
Money for three Years and an half a Year Salary ending the 
15th day of March last." By a mutual council, consisting of 
seven churches, convened Sept. 28, 1774, the pastoral relation 
between Mr. Goodhue and the church was dissolved, " not from 
any particular dislike to him, but from a consideration of the 
unhappy prospect before him, if he should still continue their 
minister." The council aver that they " can heartily recom- 
mend him as a person of conspicuous seriousness & piety, and 
as one whom they judge qualified to do service in the ministry." 

The council also recommended to the church and parish, 
"that whereas they have been broken to pieces by unhappy 
contentions, they may for the future be united together in love 
and friendship." 

During his pastorate of seventeen years, sixty-five persons 
were admitted to the church, and he seems to have left for the 
simple reason that the people, as one said, " were tired of him." 
While in Dunstable, he resided in a house near that of Adford 
Jaquith, at the northern base of Forest Hill. The arrearages 



no HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l774 

in Mr. Goodhue's salary were subsequently paid. He was 
afterwards settled and died in Putney, Vt. In the sermon 
preached at his funeral, Nov. i6, 1797, the Rev. William Wells 
said of him : — 

" I believe you will all join with me in asserting piety to 
God and benevolence to man were leading features of his char- 
acter. The great object of his life was to be useful in his 
station as a minister of the gospel of Christ, and exemplify in 
his own conduct and temper those virtues and graces which, 
with the greatest sincerity, he recommended to others. His end, 
like that of the godly man's, was peace, being not only resigned 
at the prospect of his dissolution, but desirous to depart and be 
with Christ." * 

Mr. Goodhue was married to Elizabeth, eldest daughter of 
Deacon Joseph and Elizabeth (Underwood) Fletcher, July 28, 
1757. She died Oct. 22, 1793. Their children were, i. Josiah, 
who became an eminent surgeon. 2. Joseph, who was also a 
surgeon, and twenty-one years in the United .States service. 

3. Ebenezer, who was deacon of a church in Westminster, Vt. 

4. Eliza, who married Peter Aikin, of Windham, Vt. 5. Samuel 
B. And 6. Nathaniel, who was by profession a lawyer. 

There was an article in the warrant for a town meeting, in 
1774, to build a school-house, but the town voted not to do it. 
This is the first reference to such a building on the records. 
The prospect of a war with the mother country probably pre- 
vented the town from incurring the expense. In April of the 
ensuing year, Deacon Joseph Fletcher, Josiah Blodgett, Temple 
Kendall, James Tyng, Esq.,f Captain Jose[)h Butterfield, Wil- 
liam Gordon, and Ebenezer Bancroft were chosen "to divide 
the town into districts for schooling" 

By the action of the first Provincial Congress, which, in 
October, 1774, created a committee of safety, and provided 
that a fourth part of the enrolled miUtia should, as "minute 
men," be held in readiness for immediate service, it became 
apparent that a collision between the American and British 



* Dunstable Church Records, p. 71. 

t Youngest son of Eleazer Tyng, and born March 6, 1731. He held many 
public offices. 



1775] COMMITTEE OE INSPECTION. HI 

forces was impending, and Dunstable, with patriotic resolution, 
hastened to make preparation to assist as far as possible in the 
common cause of freedom. 

On the 23d of January, 1775, it chose John Tyng and James 
Tyng as representatives to the Provincial Congress to be held 
at Cambridge, and on the ist of February ensuing, it appointed 
those two gentlemen together with Joseph Danforth,* Nathan- 
iel Holden, William Gordon, Joel Parkhurst, Reuben Butter- 
field, Jacob Butterfield, and Leonard Butterfield, as a com- 
mittee of inspection to " carry into execution in the Town of 
Dunstable the agreement and association of the late respected 
Continental Congress." 

* Lieut Joseph Danforth, born 1720 and died 1795, was a son of the ?Ion. 
Samuel Danforth, grandson of Jonathan and Rebecca (Parker) Danforth, and 
great-grandson of Jonathan Danforth, of Billerica, the noted land surveyor, hieut. 
Joseph Danforth married Mary Richardson and had eight children. His son, Josiah 
Danforth, was the father of Capt. Joseph Danforth, and grandfather of the pres- 
ent Capt. Joseph Danforth, born Aug. 9, 1805, who occupies the old homestead 
in a pleasant locality, a little south of the State line, and on Howard's Brook. 
A part of the Danforth estate is thus described : " Whereas, the Town of Dun- 
stable granted unto Peter ISennett a thirty acre House Lot, which was laid out 
unto him next adjoyning to the lot laid out for the minister and afterwards the sd 
Peter did resign up and relinquish his Right in the sd Lot with the appurtenances 
and by Consent took his allotment in another part of the said Township so yt the 
sd Thirty acre house lot was granted unto Thos Wheler and by him sold to Joseph 
Wheeler and by him the sd Joseph conveyed to John Hayward with three acres 
of Second Division land adjoyning, which Said Lot and addition is butted and 
Bounded northeasterly partly by Meremack river & partly by the land of Joseph 
Wheler Southerly by the land of Capt Thos Brattle Northwesterly by the lot 
laid out for the minister in the s-d Township and southeasterly by the Land o^ 

Joseph Wheler A'so So acres of Second Division land being bounded north. 

west and west by Common Land Easterly by the Land of Joseph Wheeler south- 
erly by the Brook that runs from Seven Star Medow also one acre of medow on 
the other side of the sd Brook & one acre more on the sd Brook about 30 rods 
Distant also two acres of medow beyond Buck Medow — Wee whose names are 
here underwritten Being appointed a Comittee for the Laying out of lots in the 
Township of Dunstable are prive to this Concern & have managed the same by 
Vertue of the power Granted to us and is Confirmed to the Sd PLtyward at a 
Town meeting the 5tli of October 16S0 at which time this return was ordered to 
be recorded in the records of Sd Town. 

"James Parker. 
RoiiEKT Paris. 
" A True Copy Attest 

pr Joseph French 

Proprs ClarkP 



I 12 



IHSTOKY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[^77S 



The following pledge evinces the patriotic spirit of the peo- 
ple in the very commencement of the tremendous struggle: — 

" We the subscribers taking into our consideration the present difficulty, 
do hereby voluntarily engage with each other in defence of our country, 
Priveledges and Libert3's for the space of six months from this date ; that 
we will submit ourselves to the Laws equally the same as if they were in 
full force respecting our officers that now are, or hereafter may be chosen 
in all Military Duty. — Dunstable, March ist, 1775. 



" Edward Butterfield. 
Nathaniel Holden. 
Lemuel Perham. 
George Bishop. 
Ebenezer P^rench. 
Jonathan Bancroft. 
John Chanev. 
Reuben Lewis. 
John Cumings. 
John French. 
Zebedee Kendall. 
JOSEl'H Farrar. 
John Marsh. 
John Cockle. 



Samuel Roby. 
Eleazer French. 
Philip Butterfield. 
Jeralmeel Colburn. 
Wm. French. 
Jonathan Sherwin. 
John Manning. 
Jacob Davis. 
Jesse Butterfield. 
Hezekiah Kendall. 
Henry Sheppard. 
William Glenne. 
Jonathan Woodward. 
Thomas Trowbridge." 



Total, 28. 



The above valuable paper belongs to Dexter Butterfield. 

On the 4th of April, 1775, the town voted " to have menite 
men agreeable to the desire of the provincial Congress," and 
on the 1 2th of the same month it voted to assess ;i^20 for "y® 
encouragement & use of y*^ minute men " ; and they were " re- 
quired to hold themselves in readiness to march at the first 
notice." * This notice was not long in coming ; nor did it 
find the Dunstable soldiers unprepared, since many of them 
had seen hard service in the old French War, and a weekly 
drill had long been held. Late on the 19th of April, the start- 



* " These minute men were trained often, the towns paying the expense, when 
the company, after its field exercises, would sometimes repair to the meeting- 
house to hear a patriotic sermon, or partake of an entertainment at the Town 
House, where zealous * Sons of Liberty' would exhort them to prepare to fight 
bravely for God and their country." — Frothingham's Sten^e of Boston, p. 42. 

" Lord Percy said at table he never saw anything equal to the intrepidity of the 
New England minute men." — Remembrancer, Vol. I, ill. They were of all 
classes, and it was held as a marked distinction to be chosen as an officer in a 
company. 



1775] BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. Ij-^ 

ling news arrived that blood had been shed at Lexington and 
Concord ; but the affair was finished before the men from 
Dunstable had time to reach the scene of action. It is said 
that while the battle of Bunker Hill was raging a stranger 
called at the house of Mrs. Jonathan Woodward near "The 
Gulf," and asked for something to eat. " While partaking of 
her hospitality he began to berate Americans, and, boasting of 
the success of the British, declared that all would be subjects 
of King George, to whom they rightly belonged. Incensed at 
his insolence, she opened the door and commanded him to leave 
the house, which he refused to do, saying he would go when he 
was ready. She then seized a chair, knocked him down, and 
dragged him out of the house, convincing him, no doubt, of 
one woman's courage, and devotion to the country," * Eight 
days after the battle the town assembled, and "voted to accept 
of y^ Powder James Tyng, Esq., bought for this town." 

Abel Spaulding, Lemuel Perham, Elijah Fletcher, and Asa 
Kendall were chosen to join the Committee of Correspondencef 
on the 1 2th of June ; and at the same meeting Joel Parkhurst, 
a man of pure patriotism, was chosen to represent the town 
in the Continental Congress at Watertown, instead of John 
Tyng, whose health was impaired, and James Tyng who " had 
a multiplicity of business." This was the time that tried 
men's souls. Five days afterwards the Dunstable company, 
composed of fifty men, forming a part of the Massachusetts 
regiment, under the command of Col. Ebenezer Bridge, com- 
missioned at Billerica, May 2^, was present, and participated 
in the memorable action of Bunker Hill. Ebenezer Bancroft 
was captain, Nathaniel Holden, lieutenant, and Samuel Brown, 
ensign. Col. Bridge was sent forward on the evening of the 
1 6th of June with a part of his regiment, embracing Capt. 
Bancroft's company, to throw up the entrenchment on the hill, 



* Tyngsborough Centennial Record. 

t The Committee of Correspondeiice was called the mainspring of the Revo- 
lutionary movement. It published from time to time the news of home and 
abroad in hand-bills, and, in concert with the selectmen and parish committees, 
took counsel in respect to the enemy, and supervision of all local matters per- 
taining to the war. 
8 



I 1 4 HIS TOR Y OF D UNS TABLE. [ I 7 7 5 

and after toiling through the night upon the redoubt, awaited 
for the advance of the British squadrons. During the san- 
guinary contest that ensued, the company from Dunstable 
evinced all the valor of veteran soldiers, as many of them 
indeed were, and it was only after their ammunition was ex- 
hausted that they left the field. Capt. Bancroft was severely 
wounded.* Eleazer French had an arm shot off during the 
action, and picking it up, bore it as a trophy from the bloody 
field. His brother, Samuel French, had a ball shot through 
his right ear. Jonathan French, another brother, was in tlic 
battle. William French and Jonas French, two brothers of 
another family, did good service on that eventful day. The 
former discharged his gun with deliberate aim, as at a pigeon, 
sixteen times. He was a shoemaker by trade, served through 
the war, and died in Dunstable at an advanced age. From his 
sobriety and uprightness he was called " Deacon William." 

At the close of the battle these two brothers left the hill 
together, and on crossing "the Neck" under the fire of the 
" Glasgow " man-of-war, they discovered an officer very severely 
wounded, and tendered him assistance. " I cannot live," he 
said. " Take care of yourselves." They, however, raised him 
to their shoulders and bore him through the havoc to a place 
of safety. It proved to be Capt. Henry Farwell, of Groton.f 

Mr. Ebenezer French was also at the battle of Bunker Hill. 
He was the grandfather of Benjamin French, Esq., who has now 
in his possession the bullet-moulds (which are of brass and will 

* Capt. Bancroft fought nobly in the redoubt, and was wounded {Siege of Bos- 
ton, |). 177), and was tlie last to leave the redoubt. He used a musket in the melee, 
and, being a man of remarkable strength, knocked down several Britisli soldiers 
after they had surrounded him. Me had been an officer in the French War, and 
had learned how to fight in earnest. Before he left the field his musket was 
wrenched from his hands, his hat knocked from his head, and the forefinger of 
his right-hand shot off. It is a marvel he was not killed. He said of Col. 
William Prescott, commander-in-chief in this battle, and of whose intrepidity 
he was an eye-witness, " He continued through the hottest of the fight to display 
admirable coolness, and a self-possession that would do honor to the greatest 
hero of any age. He gave his orders deliberately, and how cfiTectually they were 
obeyed I need not tell." {Siege of Boston, p. 158.) He was made a lieutenant- 
colonel in 17S0, and served through most of the war. 

t Butler's History of Groton, p. 26S. 



1776] BLANKETS FOR THE SOLDIERS. jj^ 

form twenty-four bullets of different sizes at one casting), the 
camp-kettle, and musket of this brave soldier. He died April 
14, 1808, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. Some of the 
Dunstable men were in Capt. John Ford's company of Chelms- 
ford. They reached the field just before the action began, and 
fought with great bravery. Oliver Cummings, soon after made 
captain, was, by reason of sickness, not present at the battle. 
While Isaac Wright was sitting exhausted on a bank in front 
of a house in Charlestown, a cannon-ball came rolling along so 
near him that he could have touched it with his foot, and on 
being asked why he did not stop it, he said, " I then should 
have returned home with only one leg." He was one of the 
first to enlist for the war. 

During the siege of Boston many of its inhabitants repaired 
to the other towns in the State in order to avoid the ill treat- 
ment of the hostile troops, and several of them came to Dun- 
stable, where, as it appears from the following vote, they were 
kindly entertained : — 

Nov. 20, 1775, voted that "ye Poor & Indigent inhabitants of the town 
of Boston which are now in this town be supported with ye provisions of 
this town so long as it could be procured in Sd town therefor." 

It was represented to the General Court, May i, I775i that 
there were about 5,000 indigent people in Boston, then in pos- 
session of the British, unable to meet the expense of removing 
themselves from the town. The Court, therefore, resolved that 
the towns in the vicinity should do this, and also " provide for 
such inhabitants in the best & most prudent way." The expense 
was to be met by the public treasury. Fifty-four poor persons 
from Boston were assigned to Billerica, and probably about 
forty to Dunstable. They brought with them this certificate : 

"The bearer and his family, removing out of the town 

of Boston, are recommended to the charity and assistance 
of our sympathizing brethren in the several towns in this 
province." 

It was ordered by the General Court, Jan. 4, 1776, that four 
thousand blankets should be provided by the respective towns 
for the soldiers in the army, and paid for out of the public 



ii6 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1776 



treasury. About one dozen of them were furnished by Dun- 
stable. 

On the 4th of March, 1776, Capt. Ebenezer Bancroft, Capt. 
Reuben Butterfield, Jonathan Fletcher, Nathaniel Holden, and 
Asa Kendall were chosen a Committee of Correspondence, and 
on the 31st of May following, Oliver Cummings was commis- 
sioned captain of the Dunstable company in the regiment of 
militia of which Simeon Spaulding was the colonel. The com- 
pany consisted of the following men : — 



ROLL OF CAPT. OLIVER CUMMINGS'S COMPANY. 



Oliver Cumings, Capt. 
nTemple Kendall, Lt. 
Joel Parkhurst, Lt. 
Amaziah Swallow. 
JosiAH Blodgett, Jr. 
Jona'n Fletcher. 
Ebenr French. 
Abel Spaulding. 
Jonas Taylor. 
Simeon Cumings. 
Jonas Butterfield. 
Joseph Spaulding, Drummer .* 
Oliver Cumings, Jr., Fi/er. 
Ebenr Butterfield, Jr. 
Jesse Butterfield. 
Phillip Buti'erfield. 
Zebulon Blodgett. 
Eliphalet Bailey. 
Jacob Baldwin. 
John Cumings. 
James Cumings. 
Jesse Du'iton. 
JosiAii Danfortii. 
Robert Dunn. 
Piiinehas Fletcher. 
Saml French. 



Jonas French. 

Aaron Farmer, 

Benj Jaquith. 

Jacob Kendall. 

Zebedee Kendall. 

Moses Hardy. 

John Perham. 

Joseph Parkhurst, Jr. 

John Proctor. 

Jona'n Proctor. 

Gershom Proctor. 

Benj. Pike, Jr. 

Eleazer Read. 

Elijah Robbins. 

Benj. Swallow. 

Peter Swallow. 

Oliver Taylor. 

Isaac Taylor. 

Saml Taylor, Jr. 

Jonathan Tenny. 
.Jonathan Woodward. 

Isaac Wright. 
" Solomon Sartle. 

Oliver Green. 

Edward Dunn. 

Ebenr Parkhurst. 



* The fife, the drum, and the trumpet were the only musical instruments then 
used in the Continental arm)'. The tunes usually jjlayed were " Yankee Doodle " 
and the " Road to Boston." The tune of " Chester," by William l?illings, was 
sometimes heard in the camp, and before the close of the war several new 
marches were introduced. Military bands were not formed in this country until 
about the commencement of the present century. They were, in some instances, 
taught by the Hessians, who settled here after the war was over. 



1776] ROLL OF TRAINING BAND. 1 1 7 

John Marsh. James Tarbox. 

JONA French. Wm. French. 

The Alarm List. 

Capt. Leonard Butterfield. Timothy Read. 

Lt. Joseph Danforth. Lt. Lemuel Perham. 

Lt. Saml. Brown. Jos. Parkhurst. 

»John Kendall. Timothy Read, Jr. 

Benj. Pike. Thos. Fletcher. 

Ben J. Woodward. Edward Dunn. 

■^Edward Kendall. Parret Tinney. 

David Taylor. Lt. John Cheney. . 

Each soldier was provided with a fire-arm, bayonet, cutting- 
sword or hatchet, cartridge-box, from fifteen to one hundred 
pounds of buckshot, jackknife, powder, from fifteen to one hun- 
dred pounds of balls, six flints, a knapsack, blanket, and can- 
teen. The muskets were long and heavy, and very inferior 
instruments in comparison with the eftective needle-guns of the 
present day. The knapsack was made, in some instances, of 
strong tow cloth. Josiah T. Cummings, born 1801, has now 
in his possession the knapsack used by his father, Capt. Josiah 
Cummings, during the Revolution. The ammunition was 
stored in the loft of the meeting-house, and the place of 
rendezvous for the minute-men was at the house of Asa 
Kendall, which was subsequently owned by Dr. Adonijah W. 
Howe. 

The above list of names, in the handwriting of Capt. Oliver 
Cummings, rs without date, and may have been written at 
about this period of the war, as the following list, on the back 
of which is inscribed, "Dunstable June the 25*^ 1776, Joel 
Parkhurst to goodness & marcy," would seem to indicate. 

LIST OF Y' TRAINING BAND. DUNSTABLE. JUNE 25, 1776. 

Sergants 

Asa Kendall. Amaziah Swallow. 

Ebenezer French. 

Corporals. 

Abel Spaui,ding. Jonas Taylor. 
Simeon Cumings. Jonas Butterfield. 



ii8 



IJISTOKY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1776 



Drummer. 
Joseph Spaulding. 

Fifer. 
Oliver Cumings, Jr. 



Ebenezer Butterfield, Jr. 
Jesse Butterfield. 
John Blodgett. 
Zebulon Blodgett. 
Philip Butterfield. 
Eliphalet Baley. 
John Cumings. 
James Cumings. 
RoiiERT Dunn. 
Jesse Dutton. 
JosiAH Danforth. 
Daniel Emerson. 
Thomas Fletcher. 
Joseph Fletcher, Jr. 
Phinehas Fletcher. 
Aaron Farmer. 
Moses Harde. 
Benj. Jaquith. 
■ Jacob Kendall. 



Abraham Kendall, Jr. 
Zebedee Kendall. 
John Marsh. 
John Proctor. 
Jonathan Proctor. 
Gersham Proctor. 
John Perham. 
Joseph Parkhurst, Jr. 
Timothy Read, Jr. 
Elijah Robins. 
Ei.EAZER Read. 
Benj. Swallow. 
Peter Swallow. 
Lemuel Scott. 
Oliver Taylor. 
Isaac Taylor. 
Same. Taylor, Jr. 
Jona. Woodward. 



The names that follow arc inserted and erased : — 



Samuel Butterfield. 
Moses Chandler. 
Edward Dunn. 
Edward Dunn, Jr. 
Jonathan E.merson. 
Jonathan French. 

C. Leonard Butferfield. 
Lt. Joseph Danforth. 

D. Joseph Fletcher. 
Mr. Josiah Goodhue. 
Adford Jaquith [erased]. 
Abraham Kendall. 
John Kendall. 
Lt. Lemuel Perham. 
Joseph Parkhurst. 

Lt. Samuel Brown. 
William French. 
Jonas French. 
Jonathan French. 
Samufi, Kkknch. 



Oliver Green. 
Saml. French, Jr. 
Edward Kendall. 
Benj. Pike, Jr. 
Benj. Woodward. 

The Alarm List. 

Benj. Pike. 
Timothy Read. 
David Taylor. 
Benj. Woodward. 
Edward Kendall. 
Edward Dunn. 
Jacob Kendall. 
I'.ENj. Swallow. 

Ill the Army. 

Enoch Jewett. 
Benjamin Taylor. 
Abraham Taylor. 
John Brown. 



1 776] LETTERS FROM TlfR ARMY. I Iq 

At a meeting of citizens of the town, June 8, 1776, Major 
Ebenezer Bancroft, Capt. Reuben Butterfield, and Mr. Timo- 
thy Read were chosen " a committee to prepare y*" Draft of a 
vote," which is as follows : — 

"At a time when ye most Important Questions that ever were agitated 
before ye representative body of this Colony touching its liberties & priv- 
eleges will demand your attention as we your constituents are called upon 
to instruct you in a very important point of duty you may be called to act 
upon viz of ye Colony being declared to be independent of Grate Britton. 
When we reflect upon ye state of America when our forefathers first came 
over & ye cause for which they came & the treatment of Grate Brittan 
towards us ever since, but especially of late when our most humble peti- 
tions to ye king of Grate Brittan for our just rights repeatedly rejected 
with disdain & fier and sword taking place upon our brethren of this land. 
He and his parliament not only deceiving ye people of Grate Brittan at- 
tempting to hire ye natives of this land to butcher us & for what we know 
hath hired all ye covetous blood thirsty souls upon ye face of ye whole earth 
to come against us in order to rob us of life and fortune ye contemplation of 
which fills our brests with abhorrence and disdain against ye power that 
is thus acting. We then will join with our brethren of America in pur- 
suing such measures as the honorable the Continental Congress shall 
adopt if it is that of Independence of Grate Brittan & will risk life and 
fortune in ye cause if called to it, we then sir expect you will equip your- 
self as a member of society & will use your utmost endeavours in pro- 
moting ye cause of America not in ye least doubting your abilities. 

" Ye above being red to ye town ye question being put whether y^ same 
be given as above to ye present representative of this town passed in the 

affirmative ncin. con. 

" JosiAH Blodgett, Jr. 

Town Clerk.'" 

It was the reception of such plain, but spirited resolutions 
from the various towns of the province that gave the leaders 
of the Revolution courage to make the celebrated Declaration 
of Independence which soon followed. 

In October ensuing the town agree to accept " such a Con- 
stitution as the House & Council of this Massachusetts Bay 
would organize." 

In the mean time, the brave soldiers of Dunstable were 
carrying out the spirit of the municipal resolutions by active 
service in the field. The following letters from James Cum- 
mings, son of the gallant Capt. Oliver Cunuuiiigs, exhibit the 



120 niSTORY OF DUNSTABLE. \}71^ 

feelings of the soldiers at the post of duty. It must be borne 
in mind that the town, as yet, had enjoyed only the advantage 
of a " moveing school," and that unremitting toil had been the 
lot of most of the inhabitants of the town. 

TiCONDEROGA, Allg. l6, 17/6. 

Hon'd Parents these Lines may inform you that I am well thro' the 
Goodness of God & hope you enjoy the same favor. We arriv'd here 
yesterday from Skeinsborough which is 28 miles up the Lake. Our men 
are all in good health & high Spirits and row'd down in 6 hours landed the 
opposite side of the Lake to Ticonderoga but expect to go over as soon as 
the Tents come No more at present So after my duty to you & Love 
to my Brothers and Sister I conclude begging Leave to subscribe My- 
self your Dutiful Son 

James Cumings. 

Ticonderoga, Oct. 15, 1776. 
Honored farther c& mother after my Dutey To you & Love to my Brothers 
and Sister I have Taken this oppertunity to Let you now that I am Well 
at present and Blessed be god for it & hojoe these Linds will find you the 
Sam I shant Rite much at j)resent only the Raglars have drove Our flet 
Back hear we have sustaned Lors of Men & Vessels & the Enmis armey 
is at Crown point or near their & we expect them hear Quick. Phillip 
Butterfield is got Better Jeass Butterfield Ls pooley yet Rember me to 
all Inquirin friends So I Remain your Dutiful Son 

James Cummings. 

Col. Benedict Arnold was in command of flotillas on Lake 
Champlain this summer and autumn, and had two disastrous 
engagements (Oct. 11 and 13) with the enemy, but he suc- 
ceeded in preventing a union between the British forces in 
Canada and those in New York, which was the design of his 
expedition. His loss in both these engagements was about 
ninety men. It is to these losses that James Cummings 
refers. 

The officers of the first precinct (now Tyngsborough) for 
this year were Ebenezer Bancroft, Capt. Reuben Butterfield, 
and Lieut. Nathaniel Holden, committee and assessors, Lieut. 
Nathaniel Holden, treasurer, Reuben Lewis, collector, and 
Ebenezer Bancroft, clerk. 

A warrant in the handwriting of Cai)t, Oliver Cummings 
runs verbatim, literatim, et puiictatim in the lollowing style : — 



1777] ^"^ R-MEE TINGS. I 2 I 

Middlesex, ss. To Jonas Buterfeld Corpril By The athority under 
which we hold you are required forthwith to notifie all the Training Band 
Soldiers of my Company to gether with the allarum List to meet at the 
house of Mr. Ase Kendalls on Wednesday The Eighteenth Instant at 
Two of the Clock Precisly in the after Noon of Said Day that is all That 
Live to the Est of Salmon Brook of Sd Company with armes Complet it 
being on a Special ocasion, or an alaram hereof fail not & mack Due 
Return to me on Said Training given under my hand this Seventeenth 
Day of September 1776 

Oliver Cummings Capt. 

This " special ocasion, or alaram," arose from the news, 
which at that period travelled very slowly, of the defeat of the 
Americans, August 27, in the battle of Long Island, which, to 
Washington, was one of the most disheartening of the war. 

Another warrant soon followed, and the people in those dark 
days had but little time to rest, or but little to think or talk 
about save the encounters with the redcoats, and the progress 
of the war. 

MiDLX ss To Simeon Cumings Corporil By the Authority under 
which we hold you are Required forthwith to notify all ye Traning Band 
Soldiers of my Company Together with ye allarm List to meet with arms 
at the House of Mr Asa Kendalls on Satterday ye 30th of this Novr 
Instant at one of ye Clock in the after Noon of Sd Day Viz All that Live 
to ye West of Salmon Brook It being by a Special order of ye Cort. Hereof 
Fail not & make Due Return to me on or before Said Traning Given 
under my hand this 28th Day of Novr A D 1776. 

Oliver Cumings Capt. 

MiDLx ss Dunstable 30th Novr 1776 I have Notified all ye Tran- 
ing Band Soldiers With ye Alarm List To meet at Time & place as within 

mentioned. 

Simeon Cumings. 

Feb, 17, 1777, the town chose Ebenezer Bancroft and 
Abraham Kendall selectmen and assessors in place of 
" Capt. Reuben Ikitterfield and Lieut. Joel Parkhurst absent 
in y*-" army." It also chose, this year, Ebenezer Bancroft 
representative to the General Court. 

The town was prompt to respond to the repeated calls for 
men and money, and meetings were very frequently held, 
either at the " alarm post " or at the tavern, or at the church, to 



122 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. U??? 

adopt measures for doing its part in carrying on the war. 
Several of the Dunstable soldiers served in companies of other 
towns, and some from other places joined the Dunstable com- 
panies Lieut. Richard Welsh, as a recruiting officer, hired 
eight foreigners to serve in the company of Capt. Oliver Cum- 
mings during the war. Their names are given as follows: — 

Benjamin Evans. John Barton. 

William Brian. David Osman. 

John Silly. Isaac Hitten. 

Christopher Hicky. John Walker. 

The return is dated March 23, 1777. 

In April of this year five men were drafted from the town, 
as its quota of the three hundred soldiers the county was 
called upon for the reenforcement of the army. The warrant 
is a curious document. 

On the Colony Sarvick. 

To the Captns of the Companies of mihtary in Dunstable or in thar 
absens To the Naxt Oficer in the Company you are Required forth with 
to Inlist or Draft from your Companeys Five abel Bodid efective meen 
which is your Part of Three hundred and P'ive meen out of County to 
Renfors the armey of Rodiland and mack Return of the Names of the 
men so in Listed or Drafted Emedait ly as the Bisnis admits of No 
Delay. 

Aprel the 29 1777. N. B. the above Said men ar To be Detained in 
Camp if Needed Two month and no Longer. 

The names of those who enlisted or were drafted at this 
time I do not find on the town records, but on the back side 
of a letter from William Kendall to Capt. Oliver Cummings, 
dated New Ipswich, June 3, 1777, the subjoined lists appear 
in the handwriting of the latter: — 

Drafted for the First Ti?ne. 

Jonathan Fletcher. Joseph Paukhurst 

Samuel Taylor. Jonathan Proctor. 

Benjamin Jaquith. Samuel Butterfield. 

James Perham. Edward Kendall. 

Drafted for the Second Time. 
\). Fletcher. Uliver Cumminc.s. 



^T77\ TORIES. \2X 

Drafted for the T/tit d Time. 

Jacob Kendall. Abraham Kendall. 

Temple Kendall. Leonard Buttereield. 

In April the British troops to the number of about 2,000 
entered Connecticut, burned the town of Danbury and mal- 
treated the inhabitants. Demonstrations were also made in 
Rhode Island by the enemy, and a bounty of ^20, in ad- 
dition to the ^20 and a tract of land offered by Congress, was 
promised by the State to every soldier who should enlist. The 
company of Capt. Oliver Cummings was thereupon called to- 
gether for this purpose in May, by the following warrant in the 
handwriting of the commander: — 

MiDLX ss. To Abel Spalding Corprel you are hereby in the Name of 
the Government and People of the Massachusetts Bay in Newingland froth 
With to Notify all the Traning Band Soldiers to Gether With the alaram 
List That thay meet at the Meeting Hous in the Second Parish in Dun- 
stable on thursday the 15th day of this may instant at one of the Clock in 
the after noon of said Day With arms Cumpleet all that Lives to the West 
of Salmon Brook in Sd Parish it being a Speashul order of Cort Hereof 
Fail Not & make Due Return to me on or Before Said Training. 

Given this 10 Day of may A D 1777 

Oliver Cumings C(i/>t. 

Another warrant from the same hand soon followed : — 

MiDLX ss Dunstable July ye 23 1777. To Corporil Simeon Cumings 
In ye Name of ye Government & people of this State you are Required 
forthwith To warn all ye Soldiers Belonging to ye Traning band in my 
Company Living on the west Side of Salmon Brook that they meet at ye 
alarm post To morrow viz ye 24 Instant at 4 of the Clock in ye afternoon 
with arms and other Equipments compleet according To Law In order 
Viewing &c 

Oliver Cumings, Caft. 

On the back of the paper is written : — 

Middlesex SS. pursuant to the with in Warrant I have warned the 
Solgars belonging to the traning band to meat at time and place with in 
menchoned ' 

Simeon Cumings. 

It seems that in Dunstable, as well as in other towns, there 
were some persons holding Tory principles, and thai the town 



124 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. \M1^ 

was prompt to bring them to an account for their opposition 
to the common cause. At a public meeting held Sept. ii, 
1777, Lieut. Nathaniel Holden was chosen "to procure and lay 
before y'' court y*-' evidence y*' might be had of y® Enimical 
disposition of any of this town that may be complained of 
that they may be proceeded with agreeable to an act of this 
state." 

A warrant from Col. Simeon Spaulding to Capt. Oliver 
Cummings for three men from his company is here given : — 

Chelmsford, February 9th, 1778. 
Sir In Consequence of another order from Council you are Hereby- 
directed to Detach by List or Draft three men from your Company to 
march to Boston to Reinforce the guards then and there to Receive and 
follow such orders as Major Genl Heath from time to time shall se cause 
to give them to tarry for the time of three months unless sooner dis- 
charged, they being the same number you was ordered to Raise in the 
orders of January 28 and any man so detached and ordered to march as 
aforesaid and shall Neglect or Refuse so to do or shall not Procure some 
able Bodied Effective man In his room to the acceptance of his Officer or 
ye fine of ten Pounds in Twenty four Hours after he shall be Detaclicd 
or ordered as aforesaid shall be considered as a soldier in s'd Detach- 
ment and Treated accordingly, and tlie men to draw the same pay that the 
guards in and about Camebridge Draw and you are Hereby Directed to 
make Return of the men to me Immediately as the Situation of affairs 
admit of No Delay from your Humble servt 

Simeon Spaulding Coll". 

To Capt. Oliver CuminGs Dunstable. 

I find among the loose papers of Capt. Cummings this note, 
interesting for its orthography, if nothing more : — 

To Capt Jonathan Stikney Sr one mane Slipt my memery which Should 
have been in my Retorn viz Jotham Barron of Dracutt that inlisted with 
Capt Fox In Cornl henleys Rigment and hired by my Compney as will 
aper by Ritings and if you think it Proper Pies to ICntcr Him one that 
Rcton and you will oblige your huml scrvent 

Oliver Cumings 

Dunstable Fcbcry iSth 177S. 

It appears from a paper of Capt. Cummings that the follow- 
ing men were hired and paid by the Second Parish of Dun- 
stable, for a term of service in 1777 and 1778: — 



1778] ROLL OF CAPT. CUMMFNGS'S COMPANY. 125 

Amos Taylor, of Dunstable, Capt Abraham Watson's company ; 
Wm. Davis, Dunstable, of Capt Bullard's company ; and paid by 
Timothy Read, ^^15. John Proctor & Oliver Cummings, Jr. of 
Dunstable enlisted for 8 months from the 3d day of September. Jona- 
than French enlisted Feb. 16, 1778. Jonas Whiting, Simeon 
Stevens, Isaac SfEARNS & Josiah Wright, of Billerica, enlisted in 
the company of Capt Fox ; Samuel Parker of Pepperell enlisted in 
Capt Brown's company and was paid ^36, and Jonathan Dickenson 
of Charlestown enlisted in Capt Pettingell's company and was paid ^34, 
by Joel Parkhurst. 

I find the following list of men in the Dunstable company 
about this time, as given in the handwritting of Capt. Oliver 
Cummings : — 

MUSTER ROLL OF CAPT. OLIVER CUMMINGS. 

Sergeants. 
Amaziah Swallow. Jona Fletcher. 

Corporals. 
AiiEL Spaulding. Jonas Taylor. 

Simeon Cuming. Jonas Butterfield. 

Drunimer. 
Joseph Spaulding. 

Fifer. 
Oliver Cumings, Jr. 

Eben Butterfield, Jr. Benj. Swallow. 

Jesse BuTXERFiELn. Isaac Taylor. 

Philip Butterfield. Saml. Taylor, Jr. 

John Blodoet. Oliver Taylor. 

Zebulon Blodget. Jona Woodward. 

Eliphalet Baley. Isaac Wright. 

Jacob Baldwin. Solomon Sartle. 

John Cumings. Jona Tenny. 

James Cumings. Zebedee Kendall. 

Jesse Button. Ebenr. Parkhurst. 

Josiah Danforth. Edward Dunn. 

Robert Dunn. Wm. French. 

Phinehas Fletcher. James Pike. 

Saml. French. Isaac Kendall. 

Jona French. Oliver Tenny. 

Jonas French. Leonard Butterfield. 

Moses Harde. Joseph Danforth. 

Benj. Jaquith. Saml. Brown. 



126 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l778 

Jacob Kkndall. . John Kendall. 

Aaron Farmkk. Benj. Pike. 

John Marsh. Benj. Woodward. 

John Perham. Edward Kendall. 

Joseph Parkhurst, Jr. David Taylor. 

John Proctor. Timothy Rej^d. 

JoNA Proctor. Lemuel Pkrham. 

Gershom Proctor. Joseph Parkhurst. 

Benj. Pike, Jr. Timothy Read, Jr. 

Eleazer Read. Parrot Tenny. 

Elijah Rokkins. John Cheny. 

Peter Swallow. Ebenr. Star. 

The Second Parish appears to have assumed most of the 
burden of the war, and was indeed in many respects, through 
that dark period, the town of Dunstable itself. 

In consequence of the heavy assessments for the payment of 
the arrearages to Mr. Goodhue, it voted, March 6, 1775, " Not 
to Raise any money for y** Seport of the gospel " ; but in 
February of the following year, its decision was " to Rase 
twenty Pounds " for that purpose. The same sum was also 
assessed to " hire preching" in 1777. The Plrst Parish "voted 
to pay the soldiers for 8 months service in the war at Cam- 
bridge ^8. o. o. To each man that performed it belonging 
to the parish. 

"For 12 months at Cambridge or Dorchester . .^200 

" 12 month York 18 o o 

" 5 " Ticonderoga . . . . . 1200 

" 2 " Rhode Island . . , . 500" 

On July 3d of that year the Second Parish chose Jacob 
Kendall, Abraham Kendall, and James Taylor " to borrow such 
sumes of money as the officers and committee shall call for to 
hire Soldiers to Inlist into the Contanentel Army." On the 
29th of December it chose Jonathan Fletcher, Temple Ken- 
dall, Joel Parkhurst, Benjamin Woodward, and Amaziah Swal- 
low " to Report att the Next Adjournment of this meeting 
Respecting the Cost that hath arisen in Said Parish By carre- 
ing on the present war with Great Britton." 

The report of this committee, made on the fifth day of 
January, 1778, exhibits the remarkable sacrifices which the 



^77^\ 



PAYMENTS TO SOLDIERS. 



127 



patriots underwent in those trying times to sustain the cause 
of liberty : — 

"Whareas Wee Being a Commite Chosen By the Second Parish 
. . . to mak and Lay befor the Parish . . . the Expense said 
Parish hath been alt in going and hiring men into the Army since the 
Present War With Create Brittion att an allowance for each Tower of 
Sarvice as wee should Judge wright according to appointment we have 
attended that Sarvice & Report as followeth viz : — 



£ 



For each turn to Cambrig 8 months thire be an 
allowance of . 

2 months to Roxburey or Cambrig in winter 
12 months to York in Person 

3 months to Dorchester 
5 months to Ticonderoga 

2 months to York . 

3 months to Jerses 

2 months to Rhod Island 

3 months to the Lake 
8 months to Pheledelpeh 
I month to Stillwater 



15 



10 o 

o o 

o o 

2100 

1200 

900 

12 GO 

4100 

15 00 

20 o o 
1; 00 



and all Times and money otherways Delivered to Capten Oliver Comings 
and was Laid out for hiring men into the army for the four months Sar- 
vice to Tye [Ticonderoga] three months to the Jerses or the three years 
Sarvice be allowed to the Persons that Payed the Same and as to those 
that mad a Consideration to som men that Inlisted into the twelve months 
Sarvice have an allowanc of four pounds ten shillings each. 

" Agreeable to the foregoing, Each mans Credite is as follows : — 

I s d 
Ebenezer Butterfield 

JOSIAH BlODGETT 

JosiAH Blodgett, Juner 
Ebenezer Butterfield, Juner 
Samuel Butterfield 
Leonard Butterfield 
Jonas Butterfield 
Samuel Brown . 
Eliphalet Bavley 
Zebulon Blodgett 
Jesse Butterfield 
Oliver Comings . 
Simeon Comings . 









600 








6 Q 








300 








9100 








1000 








14 10 








6150 








19 ID 








4100 








7 150 








II GO 








43 50 
16 I 8 



128 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1778 



John Comings 
John Cheane 
Joseph Danforth 
Robert Dunn 
Jesse Dutton 
Joseph Fletcher 
Thomas Fletcher 
Jonathan Fletcher 
Ebenezer French 
William French 
Samuel French . 
Jonathan French 
Moses Hardy 
Adford Jaquith . 
Benj. Jaquith 
Abraham Kendall 
John Kendall 
Jacob Kendall . 
Tempel Kendall 
Edward Kendall 
Zebedek Kendall 
John Marsh 
Lemuel Perham 
Joseph Parkhurst 
Joel Parkhurst . 
Benj. Pike . 
John Proctor 
Gershom Proctor 
Timothy Read 
Timothy Read, Juner 
Elijah Robins 
Eleazer Read . 
Amaziah Swallow 
Benj. Swallow . 
Peter Swallow . 
EI5ENEZER Starr 
Abel Spaulding . 
Joseph Spaulding 
Samuel Taylor . 
David Taylor 
Jonas Taylor 
Oliver Taylor . 
Isaac Taylor 



L 


s a 


21 





12 





22 





7 


10 


4 


10 


18 


10 


6 


50 


16 


10 


4 


10 


19 


10 


19 


10 


12 





10 





6 


50 


10 





18 





10 


10 


16 





21 





2 


5 


9 


15 


11 


10 


8 





20 





16 





16 


150 


22 


10 


II 


10 


3 


68 


12 





3 


150 


'5 





12 


15 


3 





1 1 


I 8 


5 





7 


10 


8 


80 


2: 





21 





7 


70 


6 





6 


10 



1778] 



THREE SOLDIERS DROWNED. 



129 











£ s d 


PeRROT TlNNKY II 150 


James Tarbox 








4100 


JoxAS French 








19 10 


Benj. Woodward 








• 9 150 


Jonathan Woodward 








. 8 80 


Isaac Wright 








9100 


James Perham 








1*0 


James Pike 








. 14 


Solomon Sartel 








• ^J^^ 


Sum tottel 








911 00 



And as to the Six months to Rhod Island and two turns to Roxburey 
Left to the Parish altogether. 

the above Report being Red Voted and allowed the above said Report, 
Voted and Granted to be assesed the sum of Nine hundred and twenty- 
four Pounds Six Shilling and Eight Pence for the Cost and Charg Aresen 
in said Parish by Carreing on the Preset War with Great Brittion 

Benj-^ Woodward Clerk " 

On the 22d of March, 1778, the church in Groton contrib- 
uted " to Daniel Gilson of Dunstable on account of having lost 
his house by fire ;^32 15^-. \od. one pair of shoes, one bushel 
of rye and one bushel of Indian corn."* 

The following Revolutionary soldiers belonged to that part 
of Dunstable which subsquently became the town of Tyngs- 
borough : Col Ebenezer Bancroft, Sergt. Jonathan Bancroft, 
Capt. Reuben Butterfield, Capt. Nathaniel Holden, Capt. Jon- 
athan Fletcher, Eleazer Farwell, Nathaniel Ingalls, Lieut. John 
Farwell, Levi Butterfield, Salathiel Frost, William Perham, 
Robin Skinner, John Merrill, Daniel Jaques, Benjamin Swan, 
Asa Emerson, Noah M. Gould, and Sergt. Reuben Butter- 
field, Jr., who was killed in the battle of White Plains, Oct. 7, 
1777, at the age of twenty-seven years. It is related that 
while in battle he jumped upon a fence, and said, " I '11 give 
them one firing more ! " A shot from the enemy immediately 
struck him, and his comrade, Nathaniel Ingalls, of Dunstable, 
saw him fall. He was born May 30, 1749, and was engaged 
in marriage to Miss Dorcas Coburn. 

Of the British soldiers quartered on Dunstable, three were 
drowned while attempting to cross the river at Wicasuck 
Island, and their remains were buried on land now occupied 
by Solomon Spaulding. 



* Butler's History of Groton, p. 260. 



I20 nisi OK Y OF DUNSTABLE. \M1^ 



CHAPTER IX. 

Vote on the Proposed State Constitution. — Proposition to unite the 
Two Parishes. — Burdens of the Second Parish arising from the 
War. — Sums raised to support the Ministry. — A New Meeting- 
house contemplated — The Dark Day. — Population of the Town. 

— The New State Constitution. — Men and Provisions furnished 
for the Army. — Notices of some of the Revolutionary Soldiers. 

— School Teachers VOTE to remove the MeetingHouse. — Singing 
IN Church. — Vote to unite the Parishes. — Schools kefp in Pri- 
vate Houses. — Overseers of the Poor first chosen by the Town. 

— Shays's Rebellion. — A Journal. — The Line between the two 
Parishes abolished. — The Town assumes Direction of Church 
Affairs. 

" If we were ever envious, it was of the farmer, — the intelligent, inde- 
pendent, and happy farmer, who owned his own land and his house and 
his barns ; who was free from debt, and whose family were growing up 
prosperously around him." Portland Paper. 

" With hearts unbent and spirits brave, they sternly bore 
Such toils as meaner souls had quelled, 
But souls like these, such toils impelled to soar." 

James G. Percival. 

On the 9th of February, 1778, the town, at a legal meeting, 
approved of the Articles of Confederation between the thirteen 
States ; and at another meeting, held April 23, chose John 
Tyng, Esq., Joseph Danforth, and Joel Parkhurst to examine 
the new Constitution of the State, proposed by the General 
Court. On hearing the report of this committee, June 2, the 
town "voted to reject y** Constitution for y*' following reasons, 
viz : Because it invests y*^ govornor with too unlimited a power. 
2d ly because there is not an Equal Representation. 3 ly 
Because y** Governor ought not to have y*" Title of Excellency. 
J. Blodgett, Town Clerk." 



1778] PATRIOTISM OF DUNSTABLE. joj 

This Constitution was drawn up by a committee of four 
members of the Council and twice that number of the House 
of Representatives. It was submitted to the people of the 
State in March, 1778, and by them rejected. The vote stood 
10,000 against 2,000, as many as 120 towns not voting. The 
general objections to it were that it did not contain a declara- 
tion of rights, that it made representation unequal, and that 
the powers and duties of State officers were not accurately 
defined.* 

Three school-teachers were paid this year, as follows : Welbe 
Butterfield, for keeping school, £,dc i6j-., Jonas French, ditto, 
£1 4J-., and Abraham Kendall, Jr., ditto, £>\o i^s. <^d. 

The Second Parish voted this year £^0 for " the Suport of 
the Gospel," and also ;^I2 to pay for preaching the preceding 
year ; and it chose a committee on the 9th of May, consisting 
of Dr. Ebenezer Starr, who had recently settled in the place, 
Jonathan Fletcher, Timothy Read, Joel Parkhurst, and Joseph 
Danforth, to treat with a committee from the First Parish, 
" as to those of the first Parish Living on the West Side of 
the Marimack River joyning with the Second Parish in Said 
Town and the Separation as to parishes be Disolved." This 
was for the purpose of forming a union of the two religious 
societies. 

Paper-money had at this time greatly depreciated in value, 
taxes were high, many of the able-bodied men were absent in 
the army, and the American cause seemed, in the minds of 
many thoughtful people, to be sinking ; yet the citizens of Dun- 
stable still went resolutely on to meet the demands the bleed- 
ing country made upon them. 

There was a large British force at Newport, R. I. ; the term 
of service of many of the Continental soldiers had expired, 
and two thousand men were now called for to fill up the six- 
teen depleted regiments of the State. Fifteen hundred more 
were to be raised as ordered by vote of Congress. This draft 
fell heavily upon Dunstable ; but, true to the cause of liberty, 
she responded nobly to the call. 



* See ^ddxfi. History of Massachtisetts, Vol. Ill, p. 175. 



J, 2 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1/79 

A levy of shirts, shoes, and stockings was also made upon 
the town for the army ; and since the women manifested as 
much patriotic fervor as the men, those articles were promptly 
furnished. 

On the twenty-fifth day of June the Second Parish chose 
Temple Kendall, Abraham Kendall, and Jonathan Fletcher a 
committee to procure the soldiers which " this State Now Calls 
for out of this Parish." The record of the last meeting of the 
year, Nov. i6, held first at the meeting-house and then at the 
house of Mr. Jonathan Emerson, reveals something of the bur- 
dens they with courageous hearts sustained. 

"Voted to allow Mr Tempel Kendall Jonathan Woadward and John 
Perham and Jesse Butterlield thirty pounds Each for thire Sarvice att 
the Seaige of Newport att Rhod Island. ^120. 

" Voted to Allow Mr. Joseph Fletcher Leonard Butterfield Tempel Ken- 
dall Elijah Robins Eliphalet Bayley Joseph Parkhurst juner Josiah 
Blodgett who Did Sarvice on the GuaMs att Cambridge five Pounds Per 
month for a Bounty from the Parish^ £^'^'^- o- o- 

"Voted to allow Mr John Cheny Ebenezer French Philip Butterfield 
Joseph Parkhurst juner Joseph Danforth James Coming Lemuel Per- 
ham Jonathan Fletcher Leonard Butterfield Nine Pounds Each as a 
Bounty for six months Sarvice att Rhod Lsland in the year 1777 /81. o. o. 

" Voted to Be assesed and ordered out of the Treasury forty Pound for 
the Support of Samuel Parkers Famalie ^40. o. o. 

" Voted to Be assesed the sum of Nine hundred thirty seven Pounds four 
Shilling for Defraying the Charges arisen in Said Parish for Carreing on 
the Present War Against Create Brittion. 

" Benj Woodward Parish Clerk " 

On the 15th of February, 1779, the parish voted ^100 " for 
the support of famalies of those Persons this Parish have hired 
to Engag into Contenental Army." 

The town also appropriated this year ^130 for public schools 
and other expenses, among which was the procuring of cloth- 
ing for the soldiers. It also raised £,\ZA 8-^- for bounties for 
four soldiers that went to Rhode Island ; also, at another 
meeting, p^200 for school and other charges. 

The General Court allowed the town, Sept. 14, a bounty of 
£^(^0 for three men in the nine months' service, and also re- 



1780] THE DARK DAY. 1 33 

mitted, for what cause it is not stated, a fine of /,'300 against 
the town.* 

Notwithstanding the expenses of the war, the people reso- 
lutely sustained the institutions of the gospel. For about six 
years the pulpit had been supplied by such ministers as they 
were able to find and had the means to pay, and now, in hope 
of having a pastor of their own, they discussed the question 
of uniting with the other parish in building a church and 
settling permanently a minister. On the 6th of March, 1780, 
the town chose John Tyng moderator of the annual meet- 
ing, and Joel Parkhurst town clerk. It appropriated ^500 for 
educational and other purposes. 

On the 23d of March the Second Parish agreed " to Raise 
five Hundred Pounds for the Support of such minister or 
ministers of the gospel as may be caul'd to Preach to this 
People." At an adjourned meeting, held March 31, the above- 
named sum was increased by ^500. Joseph Parkhurst, Benja- 
min Woodward, and Temple Kendall were chosen a committee 
to "higher" a minister, and this was to be done under the 
following instruction, given probably on account of Presby- 
terian views that were entertained by a few of the people — 

" We Desire you that you Do your Endeavour to higher such Candidates 
to Dispense the gospel amongst us who hold to the New England Confes- 
sion of Faith and the Cambridge Platform as therein Exhibeted to us." 

Jonathan Emerson was the parish clerk, and the above 
record is in his handwriting. 

On the nth of May the Second Parish voted to confer with 
members of the First Parish, dwelling on the westerly side of 
the Merrimack River, as to the erection of a meeting-house 
on the road between the house of Mr. Elijah Robbins and that 
formerly occupied by Willard Hall. 

The 19th of May of this year is celebrated as the Dark Day. 
As an old rhymster said, — 

'' In 1780. the nineteenth day of May, 
Will ever be remembered as being the Dark Day." 



* Mass. Resolves, Vol. HI A, p. 71. 



124 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l/SO 

The obscurity was so great that birds sought their perches at 
mid-day, and the people had to light candles in order to distin- 
guish objects in their houses. Many superstitious persons 
thought the day of doom was certainly approaching. . 

"About ten o'clock," wrote Mr. Phineas Sprague, of Maiden, 
in his journal, " it began to Rain and grew vere dark and at 12 it 
was allmost as dark as Nite so that wee was obliged to lite our 
candels and Eate our dinner by candel lite at Noonday." * 
The darkness of the evening of that day was most remarkable. 
" I could not help conceiving at the time," says Dr. Tenney, 
" that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded 
in impenetrable shades, or struck out of existence, the dark- 
ness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white 
paper, held within a few inches of the eyes, was equally invis- 
ible with the blackest velvet," 

The darkness did not extend so as to attract much atten- 
tion south of New York, nor far out at sea. It might possibly 
have been occasioned by the burning of extensive forests in 
Northern New Hampshire, the smoke of which, under peculiar 
conditions of the atmosphere, might have floated over a sec- 
tion of New England and obscured the sun. Coming, as it 
did, when the spirits of the peo])le were greatly depressed 
in consequence of the war, it is not at all surprising that it 
caused alarm. It was far more common to attribute unusual 
phenomena to supernatural agency in those days than — 
thanks be to the progress of science — it is at the present 
time. The belief of the people in ghosts, apparitions, and 
haunted houses was then very prevalent. It was almost 
invariably considered ominous to see, for the first time, the 
new moon over the left shoulder, to spill salt, or to sit 
thirteen at the table. A horseshoe was nailed to the posts of 
the door to keep off witches, and the ticking of a death-watch, 
or the sight of a white spider gliding down its thread, fore- 
boded evil. Many of these notions came from E!ngland, and 
they linger still in the minds of some uneducated people. The 
Bible, interpreted literally, was the guide book of our fathers, 

* Historical Address, p. 14, by Elbridge H. Goss, Esq, 



1780] suppljes for the army. i^^ 

and science, which sheds light upon the meaning of many a 
dark passage in Holy Writ, was a word almost unknown to 
them. The spirit of the heavenly message they, however, gen- 
erally caught. 

Another State Constitution was framed this year by dele- 
gates chosen by the towns of the Commonwealth, and sub- 
mitted, in March, to the people for their examination. 

From the record of the vote of Dunstable, May 15, it ap- 
pears that there was a strong opposition to the instrument. It 
was mainly against granting protection to all religions, against 
the liberty of the press, against so great a number of council- 
lors and senators, against the power of the governor to march 
the militia to any part of the State, against the appointment 
of all judicial officers by the governor, against the governor 
and other officers declaring themselves of the Christian relig- 
ion, against the form of the oath, — they being desirous that 
the words " living God " should be included, — against Quakers 
being excused from taking an oath, and against the time ap- 
pointed for the revision of the Constitution. 

That instrument was, however, ratified as the organic law 
by more than two thirds of the votes of the State ; and the 
Hon. John Hancock was the first governor chosen under it. 
The election was held on the 4th of September, and Dun- 
stable gave sixteen votes for Hancock and three for James 
Bowdoin. It also cast thirteen votes for Artemas Ward, one 
for James Bowdoin, and one for Jeremiah Powell, Esq., as 
lieutentant-governors. It moreover gave eleven votes for John 
Tyng, Esq., as councillor. The small vote thrown may be 
attributed perhaps to the disaffection of the people in respect 
to the new Constitution, and to the absence of many voters 
in the army. 

The town this year furnished 7,500 pounds of beef which 
the General Court called for to supply the army, and voted to 
raise ;^2,5oo for school and other purposes. Although the 
surrender of the army of Gen. John Burgoyne, Oct. 7, 1777, 
may be considered as the turning-point of the war in favor 
of the Americans, the constant reinforcement and strategic 
movements of the British forces called for frequent levies of 



136 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1780 

soldiers on our part and a heavy drain upon the people, as well 
as upon the public treasury, for supplies and bounties. The 
debt of the country was rated at $200,000,000 and that of 
Massachusetts at $5,000,000, while the valuation of its whole 
property was but $11,000,000, In this exigence paper-money 
was issued to such an extent that one dollar in silver came 
to be equal to forty dollars in what was called " the Con- 
tinental currency." The one-dollar bill, about two inches 
square, had on its face the Latin words, " Depressa resurgit," 
which is in English, " The down-trodden rises," and which had, 
at that time, much significance ; but so great was the depre- 
ciation in its value, that a blanket purchased by a soldier cost 
^100, and the salary of the Rev. Ebenezer Bridge, of Chelms- 
ford, for eight months, " was set," as Mr. Allen informs us in 
his history of that town, " at ;^3,6oo." Ebenezer French used 
to say that he once paid $40 of it for a breakfast in New York, 
This paper-money, becoming utterly worthless, went out of use 
the year following, and was never redeemed. 

This was the darkest period of the Revolution. " Through- 
out the country," says Mr. Barry, " the sufferings of the peo- 
ple were almost incredible. The life-blood of the nation had 
been poured out like water ; there were desolate homes in 
every town ; family ties had been broken and sundered ; the 
old had grown gray in military service, the young had shot 
up to a premature manhood ; cities and dwellings were falling 
to decay, and the half-tilled soil, covered with weeds, and the 
ruined fences which scarcely kept out starving cattle, told of 
the hardships the yeomanry had endured."* 

Dunstable, however, continued to furnish and to pay its 
quotas of soldiers, to support religious worship, and to appro- 
priate something for the education of its children. All classes 
cheerfully denied themselves the common luxuries of life, and 
gave themselves to unremitting labor. The music of the 
household was that of the loom and spinning-wheel, and the 
wives and daughters, during the absence of their husbands 
and their brothers at the scat of war, were always ready to 
help the aged men in out-of-door labor on the farms. 

* History of Massachusetts, HI, p 165. 



j-rgi] SOLDIERS PAID IN BEEF AND CORN. 137 

To know the worth of Hberty, we have but to turn our 
thoughts to those dark days and see how much it cost. 

Ebenezer Proctor and James Blood, Jr., paid fines in Groton 
this year for not accepting the office of collector in that town. 
They lived on Unquetynasset Brook, and, by the frequent 
changes in the town lines, were citizens, now of one town and 
then of the other, as the votes of the majority happened to 
determine. The original settler, James Blood, bought his land 
of an Indian half-breed by the name of Cook, and lived near 
the house of Mr. Washington E. Blood. 

In March, 1781, Lieut. Lemuel Perham, Josiah Blodgett, Jr., 
and Abel Coburn were chosen as a committee of correspond- 
ence ; and in April following, the town voted 4,460 pounds of 
beef and .;^I20 in silver for the army, also, ^30 in silver for 
public schools. It gave this year, April 2, twenty-three votes 
for John Hancock for governor, and eighteen votes for Thomas 
Gushing for lieutenant-governor. 

By the defeat and capture of the British forces under Lord 
Gornwallis at Yorktown, Va., on the 19th of October, 1781, the 
war, which had cost so many lives and the colonies at least 
$135,000,000, was virtually terminated. 

In furnishing -^len and money, Massachusetts bore about 
one quarter of the burden, and of this the town of Dunstable 
its full share. 

The news of the victory of the allied French and American 
forces under Washington was received in every city, town, 
and hamlet with the liveliest demonstrations of joy. " From 
every family altar," says Mr. B. J. Lossing, " where a love 
of freedom dwelt, from pulpits, legislative halls, the army, and 
from Gongress [October 24] went up a shout of thanksgiving 
and praise to the Lord God Omnipotent, for the success of the 
allied troops, and these were mingled with universal eulogies 
of the great leader and his companion in arms. The clouds, 
which had lowered for seven long years, appeared to be 
breaking, and the splendors of the dawn of peace burst 
forth, like the light of a clear morning after a dismal night 
of tempest." 

Althouirh the Second Parish of Dunstable had no bell to 



J 28 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. ['782 

ring or cannon to discharge in expression of its joy on the 
reception of the news of the great victory, still every heart 
exulted in the success of Washington and Lafayette, and their 
names and deeds were praised by every tongue. The soldiers 
soon returned from their long campaigns, and the prospect of 
peace and independence revived the drooping spirits of the 
people. 

The Second Parish voted, April ii, 1782, "to Raise and 
assess thirty pound Lawful Silver money to hire a minister or 
ministers oi the Gospel to preach in the Parish and that Joel 
Parkhurst, Esq., Capt Jonathan Fletcher and Mr Jacob Kendall 
should be a Committee to provide for Said preaching." 

Of the money (^30) raised for preaching this year, the 
Rev. John Strickland received £,'iy 6s., and the Rev. Phinehas 
Wright (H. C. 1772) £\\ \\s. 6d. Mr. Jacob Kendall was 
paid ;^3 4.S. for boarding the last-named minister. The town 
cast eleven votes for John Hancock as governor. 

Timothy Read, Lieut. John Cheney, and Oliver Taylor were 
appointed by the Second Parish, June 15, a committee to hire 
soldiers to reinforce the Continental army for six months, and 
this is the last mention on the records of the parish of any 
levy on the town for men to aid in carrying on the war. It 
was agreed at a meeting of the parish, held on the 19th of 
October following, to allow the accounts of the said committee. 
These were to be settled, not by money, for of that the people 
had long been almost destitute, but by two hundred and fifty 
bushels of Indian corn and 3,333^ pounds of beef, "which 
grain & beef the abovesaid Committee Engaged to five men 
to serve in the Continental army for the term of six months 
unless sooner Discharged." 

The following notices of some men actively engaged in the 
war of the Revolution were given to mc by Mr. Josiah T. 
Cummings : — 

Oliver Cummings, Jr., was a private in the battle of White 
Plains, Oct. 28, 1776. He returned to Dunstable and subse- 
quently removed to the town of Sumner, Me., where he died. 

James Cummings was at the taking of Ticonderoga, July 
12, 1777, and in other engagements during the war. He mar- 



1782] 



HOMESTEAD OF JONAS FRENCH. 



139 



riecl, first, Charlotte French, and, second, Sally Wright, both of 
Dunstable, and died Sept. 6. 1840, aged 80 years. 

JosiAH CuMMiNGS, son of Oliver and Sybil (Bailey) Cum- 
mings, entered the army when a mere boy, and served as a 
guard over the soldiers of Gen. Burgoyne, subsequent to their 
capture in October, 1777. He also performed duty with the 
army in New Jersey. After the Revolution he was commis- 
sioned as captain of the Dunstable militia company. He mar- 
ried first Sally and then Olive Taylor, sisters, and Hved on the 
place now occupied by his son, Josiah T. Cummings. His 
death occurred Sept. 11, 1834 

William French was a private at the battle of Bunker 
Hill. On the expiration of his term of service at Cambridge, 
he re-enlisted and well performed his duty through the war. 
He was by trade a shoemaker and was never married. He 
lived to be about ninety years old, and was much respected. 

Jonas French, born Aug. 7, 1757, and youngest brother of 
the above, was with him, as already stated, at the battle of 
Bunker Hill. He also served as a faithful soldier through the 







^^H=ii/;#n7^Yi; 




HOMESTEAD OK JONAS FRENCH. 



war. He was often employed as a school-teacher. He married, 
first, Betsy Marshall, and second, Mrs. Ann Mitchell. Both he 



140 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1782 

and his brother William received pensions for services in the war. 
It is recorded in the town books that "Jonas French, August 30, 
1792, bought pew No. 12 for ^[2 iSi-." He died in 1840, and his 
remains repose in "The French Tomb" in the Central Cemetery. 
From him is descended Col. Jonas Harrod French, of Boston. 

Ebenezer French, to whom reference has already been 
made, served through the war, and died in Dunstable, April 
14, 1808, in his seventy-seventh year. He married, first, Sarah 
Proctor, by whom he had .Sarah, born May 6, 1767 ; and second, 
Susannah Hamblett, of Nottingham, N. H., by whom he had 
Charlotte, born Aug. 13, 1774, and John, born March 15, 1778, 
and who was the father of the present Benjamin French, Esq. 

Samuel French had a ball shot through his right ear at the 
battle of Bunker Hill. He died in Dunstable, and is buried 
on Meeting-House Hill. 

Eleazer French, wounded in the same battle, died of con- 
sumption soon after his return home. 

Jonathan French, brother of the two last named, was with 
them in the first great battle of the Revolution, and was sub- 
sequently, together with his two sons, in the service on Lake 
Champlain. 

William Blodgett served as a private during the war. He 
had learned to face danger in the old French War. He was 
four times cast away at sea. Ensign John Cheney married 
one of his sisters. 

John Cheney had acquired great experience as a soldier in 
the old French War, and served his country faithfully during 
the Revolution. He was at the capture of Quebec. He was 
a very useful citizen, held many town offices, and died Feb. 
23, 1 83 1, at the advanced age of ninety-two years, leaving a 
numerous posterity. 

Temple Kendall, born Aug. 10, 1730, was a brother of 
John Kendall, the father of Deacon Zebedee Kendall. His 
grand-daughter, Mrs. Prudence (Kendall) Blodgett, is still 
living on the old l^lodgett place. He was a lieutenant under 
Capt. John Ford at the battle of Bunker Hill. 

John Proctor came home from the war and died of con- 
sumption. 



1782] 



HOMESTEAD OF DEXTER BUT7ERFIELD. 



141 



Col. Ebenkzer Bancroft, as already stated, fought bravely 
at Bunker Hill, and in other battles during the war. Me 
purchased and enlarged the house once owned by Henry Far- 
well and now occupied by his grandson, Ebenezer Bancroft, 
Esq. He went into the French War at the age of sixteen 
years. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel April 21, 1780, 
and justice of the peace in 1798. He married Susan Fletcher, 
by whom he had nine children. He died greatly respected 
Sept. 22, 1827, and was buried under arms, the band playing 
" Blue Eyed Mary" on the way to the grave. 

Jonathan Woodward served as a private through the war. 
He lived to be a centenarian, and a sermon was preached on 
his one hundredth birthday. He retained the use of his facul- 
ties until near the close of life, and was an excellent man. 

Ensign Leonard Butterfield was a private in the war. 
He lived near Meeting-House Hill. Leonard Butterfield, the 
father, lived on the south side of the road on Meeting-House 
Hill ; his son, Philip Butterfield, lived on the same side of the 
road, a little towards the west. The cellar-holes of both houses 
still remain. Leonard Butterfield, Jr., built the house now 
owned by Dexter Butterfield, east of Meeting-House Hill, the 
picture of which is here given. 




HOMl'STEAD 01' DliXlEK LUTTBRIIELD. 



142 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1783 

Jesse Butterfield served as a private in the war, and 
removed to Farmington, Me., where he died. 

Philip Butterfield, brother of the above, was also a pri- 
vate in the war. 

Paul Woods went into the naval service, and was killed by 
falling from the mast of a ship. 

Joel Parkhurst, father of Leonard Parkhurst, was a private 
in the war, and died at Dunstable. His house stood about 
twenty rods north of that of Mr. John A. Parkhurst. 

His son, Leonard Parkhurst, also served in the war, and 
died March 28, 1821, aged 57 years and 8 months. 

Ephraim and Nathan Taylor, brothers, living in the east- 
erly part of the town, went into the army, and were never 
heard from afterwards. 

Daniel Jaques died Sept. 2, 1835, aged 78 years. He is 
buried in Tyngsborough, and on the headstone is written, "To 
die is to go home " ; and also, " A soldier of the Revolution." 
Hannah Jaques, his widow, died Aug. 6, 1840, aged 87 years. 

March 3, 1783, the town appropriated ^.^^o for education, 
and allowed to Joseph Dix J[_,'^ 2s., and to Asa Vdixk&r £t, i^s , 
for keeping school On the 7th of April the town cast sixteen 
votes for John Hancock as governor, and eleven votes for 
Thomas Gushing as lifeutenant-governor. At the same time a 
committee, consisting of Jonathan Fletcher, Nathaniel Holden, 
Jonathan Emerson, and Temple Kendall, reported that it was 
advisable that the town should be divided into five districts for 
school purposes, as follows: — 

1. All to the east of the Merrimack River. 

2. All the First Parish on the westerly side of the Merri- 
mack River, excepting Lieut. Perham and Mr. John Bridge. 

3. All the Second Parish on the great road from Mr. Ezra 
Thompson's to HoUis up to Salmon Brook living on, and to 
the north of said road. 

4. All to the west of Salmon Brook, excepting Mr. Bridge's. 

5. All the remainder of the town. 

In May this report was accepted, and the districts were 
established. The Hon. John Tyng was chosen representative, 
and it was voted that the selectmen should build a pound. 



1784] VOTE TO REMOVE THE MEETING-HOUSE. j .-, 

On the third day of September a definitive treaty of peace 
between Great Britain and the United States was signed at 
Paris, and when the news reached America no town in the 
country experienced greater joy than Dunstable, for none had 
made greater sacrifices during the whole of the long and san- 
guinary war. Its hardy yeomanry had freely shed their blood 
on almost all the great battle-fields ; its wives and daughters 
had suffered many privations during the extended conflict, and 
all rejoiced to hear the blessed sound of peace once more. The 
well-worn musket was now hung above the oaken mantel-piece, 
and the old drum went into the attic for " silent repose." 

In 1784 the town paid to Mr. William Gordon £,'^ \a^s., "for 
keeping school and hording himself" ; also to Mr. Samuel 
Whiting ^19, Mr. Joseph Dix ^3 4^-. 6d., and to Miss Susannah 
Bancroft j[,2, for keeping school. The sum of £,^0 was raised 
for school purposes. It was voted this year " that swine go at 
large." It seems that town-meetings at this period were held 
alternately at the churches of the First and Second Parishes, or 
at some public or private house in the vicinity ; as, for example, 
on Feb. 26 the town assembled at the meeting-house of the 
First Parish, and the adjourned meeting was held at the tavern 
of Ovid Houston, near by ; then the next meeting was held 
at the inn of Capt. Oliver Cummings, in the Second Parish. 
Ovid Houston, colored, kept a tavern for a long period in a 
house near what is now the Tyngsborough depot, and accumu- 
lated a handsome property, of which he left about ^5,000. 
One of his sons was fiited for college. 

The committee of the Second Parish, 1784, were John Cum- 
mings, Zebedee and Abraham Kendall ; and at a meeting of 
this parish, July 12, at the house of Capt. Oliver Cummings, 
innholder, it was voted " to have the Line which runs between 
the East and West parishes in this town of Dunstable Dis- 
solved." 

As the westerly part of the town had now become generally 
settled, and as the centre of population had advanced some- 
what in. that direction, it was thought advisable that the place 
of public worship should be changed, and hence at the meet- 
ing held Nov. 8, 1784, it was "voted to move the meeting- 



144 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1785 

house from the place it now stands on to some other Convenient 
place in said Parish " ; it was also voted that the place " be 
between the Dwelling house of M'' Jonathan Procters and the 
house that Mr. Jonathan Woodward now Lives in on the north 
side of the rode that goes from one house to the other a little 
to the west of north from said Procters new Barn." 

The sum of ;^6 6s. was allowed to Abraham and Jacob 
Kendall this year for the payment of the Rev. John Bruce,* 
who probably supplied the pulpit at least two Sabbaths. 

Jacob Kendall was chosen, Nov. 3, a deacon by the church, 
but declined the honor proffered to him. 

In 1785 the town raised J^^Ap for schools, gave twelve votes 
for James Bowdoin as governor, and chose the Hon. John Pitts 
to represent it in the General Court. 

The snow on the 22d of April was two feet deep, and the 
surface so much incrusted with ice as to bear up an ox-sled. 

From an account-book of Capt. Oliver Cummings, a very 
curious, weather-stained folio of some twenty-eight pages, it 
appears that the habit of using spirituous liquors, and running 
into debt for the same, was very prevalent here, as in other 
New England towns, at this period. West India rum was 
used on all occasions, and the minister hesitated not to im- 
bibe it in common with his people. It was looked upon as 
a necessity, even at the burial of the dead. " Come, let us 
have something to drink," was almost always the first saluta- 
tion when the minister, on his parochial visit, entered a house ; 
and the rum, poured out of the long, square, dark-colored 
bottles, was made into punch or " toddy," and passed to him 
and to all the others present. This custom was the cause of 
untold mischief The following account (which I find on a 
stray leaf) of the innkeeper with his mother, Mrs. Nathaniel 
Cummings, will give a very good idea of the orthography and 
subject-matter of the captain's unique folio : — 



* He was a native of Marlborough, Mass., where he was born in the year 1757. 
He studied at Dartmouth College, and was settled in that part of Amlierst now 
Mount Vernon, Nov. 3, 1785, where he continued as pastor until his death by 
apoplexy, March 12, 1809. 



1 786] ATTEMPT TO UNITE THE PARISHES. 145 

December, 17S5. 
My Mother to me Deter 

to 3 qurts Rum . . . . . . .020 

to 5 Bushel In Corn o 18 o 

to 4 Ry 0180 

I Pint West Rum 008 

I Pint Brandy 008 

I Pound Rasons . . . . . .010 

I Pound Figs . . . . . . .008 

I Qurt Was Rum 016 

1 Ourt Brandy . . . . . . .016 

2 Qurts Rum 016 

I Qurt Brandy 016 

20 wt Pork 068 

Oliver Cummings. 

The Second Parish, Jan. 25, voted not to disannul the 
" vote passed at a late meeting of Sd parish relative to Sd 
parish is being Incorporated into a District." It paid Mr. 
Wilkins for preaching £,a, \os. ; also Mr. Jacob Kendall 
p^i 14^-. for boarding Mr. Coggin and keeping his horse. It 
" voted & chose Mr. John Chaney Jun"" to Lead in Singing in 
Publick Worship." 

This is the only reference to music on the records of the 
Second Parish ; but it would seem from those of the church, 
that the practice of " lining out " the hymns had not yet been 
abandoned. It was about this period that church choirs were 
formed in the State, which soon broke up " the deaconing out 
of the hymns " so long practised by our worthy ancestors. 
The psalms and hymns of Dr. Watts also took the place of 
" the Bay Psalm Book," and some of the fugue tunes of Wil- 
liam Billings were now occasionally sung. 

There was a strong desire on the part of some persons at this 
time that the two parishes should be united, and that a minister 
should be settled for the whole town. It was, therefore, voted 
by the Second Parish, Nov. 20, 1786, "to Joyn with the ist parish 
in this Town in applying to the General Court to dcsolve the 
Line between the two parishes, and to erect a house for the 
publick worship of God at the place where Mr. Ezra Thomp- 
sons Barn now stands, and will give up our meeting house for 

ID 



146 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1786 

the use of the Town upon Condition that the First Parish 
give their meeting house for the same use." 

In 1786 it raised ;^30 for preaching, and allowed Mr. Jacob 
Kendall ;Q\ 45-. "for Bording Mr. Jonathan Wilkins three 
weeks & Keeping his horse the same time " 

The school-teachers at this time were, John Blodgett, Joseph 
Butterfield, Jr., and wife, Susannah Bancroft, a noted instructor 
of that period, Elizabeth Swallow, Joseph Dix, Rachel Fletcher, 
and Elizabeth Powers. One school was held at the house of 
Mr. Ebenezer French, which stood near the present residence 
of Benjamin French, Esq , the town paying him £,\ \\s, for its 
use. Another school was kept in the house of Mr. Thomas 
Fletcher, in the northwesterly section of the town, and for the 
rent of a room for the same, he received the sum of %s. from 
the public treasury. 

The town this year, for the first time, elected overseers of 
the poor. They were William French, Peter Perham, Jonas 
Taylor, Josiah Danforth, and Zebedee Kendall. The poor 
were kindly treated, sometimes receiving a small sum of money 
from the town to help them in their efforts to maintain them- 
selves, and sometimes living in the family of a relative or 
friend, who received some compensation for their expense and 
trouble. The number of paupers probably did not exceed the 
number of the committee appointed to take care of them. 

Solomon Pollard was elected the " deer reeve," and thus it 
appears that this animal was still common in this region. 

Goods amounting to thirty millions had been recently im- 
ported into our country from England, while we, at the same 
time, had exported of our own productions only to the amount 
of nine millions. The country was, therefore, drained of its 
specie, and the people were poor. The result of this suicidal 
policy soon appeared in a strong disaffection of a part of the 
people towards the government. It was during this year 
(1786) that the famous rebellion under Capt. Daniel Shays 
broke out, causing great excitement in all parts of the State. 

Among the grievances presented in a memorial of the 
insurgents were the want of a circulating medium, the large 
salaries of the public officers, the aristocratic bearing of the 



1787] SI/AVS'S REBELLION. 1 47 

Senate, the heavy burden of taxation, the holdhig of the 
General Court in Boston, and the abuses in the practice of 
the law. These, and other grievances then set forth, were 
not imaginary. The people were in debt, the wages of the sol- 
diers were unpaid, the taxes burdensome. Daniel Shays,* 
who had been a captain in the late war, was appointed leader 
of the insurgents, numbering, in all, perhaps 2,000, and in 
December they took possession of the court-house in the town 
of Springfield. But the good sense of the people prevailed, 
and Gen. William Shepard, in conjunction with Gen, Benjamin 
Lincoln, at the head of about 4,000 troops, soon quelled the 
insurrection. Though suifering greatly from the effects of 
the long war, and not insensible to the grievances complained 
of, the- town of Dunstable decided that the government must 
be sustained, and sent her quota of men to aid in suppressing 
the rebellion. The simple record of their march has been 
preserved, 

''On the 17th of January 17S7 we marched to Chelmsford; on the iSth 
to Lincoln; 19th to Weston; 20th to Sudbury; 21st to Marlborough; 
22d to Worcester ; 25th to Western ; 26th, to Palmer ; 27th to Springfield 
West 25 miles ; 29th to Hatfield 25 miles ; Feb. 4th, to Petersham 33 
miles ; 7th to Amherst 25 miles ; 8th to Northampton 8 miles ; 9th to 
Chesterfield 14 miles ; loth, to Partridgefield 18 miles ; nth to Pittsfield 
8 miles ; 13th to Tyringham, 20 miles ; 14th, to Sandisfield, 16 miles ; 22d, 
to Grantville ; 23d to Springfield ; 24th, to Spencer ; 25th to Harvard ; 
26th to Dunstable, the end of the march." 

This record was probably made by Mr, Leonard Parkhurst, 
who, with Capt, Nathaniel Fletcher, Isaac Kendall, and Na- 
thaniel Cummings, were in the expedition. 

They were with Gen. Lincoln, as it appears from the above 

* Daniel Shays, son of Patrick Shays, was born on Saddle Hill, in Hopkinton, 
Mass., in 1747. He was considered a fine fellow by his early companions. In 
the battle of Bunker Hill he fought bravely, and afterwards through the Revo- 
lution. At the close of the war, during which he had been honored with a cap- 
tain's commission, he settled in Pelham, and, a bankrupt in character and fortune, 
united with Luke Day, and other malcontents, in the rebellion against the State 
authorities. In their attack on the arsenal at Springfield, Jan. 25, 17S7, three of 
the rebels were killed and the whole force was soon broken. Shays fled to Canada, 
and afterwards received a pardon and a pension. He died in Sparta, N, Y., 
Sept, 29, 1825, 



1^8 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1787 

record, in his memorable march from the Connecticut River 
through the deep snows of winter to the town of Petersham, 
where the forces of the insurgents were concentred, — "a 
march," says Mr. Allen, " that would have done honor to the 
veteran soldiers of a Hannibal or a Napoleon," The sudden 
appearance of Gen. Lincoln's troops dispersed the rebels, and 
they never rallied afterwards. 

At a meeting of the First Parish, held in January, 1787, Joel 
Parkhurst, Esq., and Lieut. Joseph Danforth were appointed 
to apply to the General Court " to desolve the Line between 
the two parishes at their next Session," but elements of dis- 
cord prevented the union of the parishes. 

Dr. Ebenezer Starr was allowed this year £^\ os. lod., to 
pay Mr. Samuel Dix for preaching. Other sums were paid to 
Messrs. Smith, Dix, and Remington, " for speaking in the 
pulpit." 

One article in a warrant given under the seal of Jonas 
French, Zebedee Kendall, and James Cummings, Jan. 19, 
1787, is " to See if the parish will Take under Consideration 
our Situation in Regard of a hurrying place and do and act 
thereon as they shall think proper." And with this and the 
usual summons for the meeting, the first book of records of 
the Second Parish in Dunstable closes. It is a folio bound in 
parchment, and contains 214 pages, embracing the proceedings 
of the parish from 1755 to 1787 ; and although some one has 
written in bold letters at the commencement, " A cannon 
OF Discord," it contains matter of great interest to the 
citizens of the town, and testifies on almost every page to the 
independence, integrity, wisdom, and patriotism of the early 
settlers of the place. 

Preparatory to the union of the two parishes into one, a 
resolve was passed in the General Court,* June 16, 1787, re- 
pealing the incorporation of the Second Parish ; but the dona- 
tion of Mrs. Sarah (Tyng) Winslow, as will be seen, prevented 
the union. 

The town now assumed the direction of ecclesiastical affairs. 

* See Massachusetts Resolves, Vol. VII, p. 14. 



1787] SELECTMEN. 1 49 

It voted, in 1787, to raise :£6o for preaching, and also that the 
services should be held alternately at the east and west meet- 
ing-house. 

It moreover decided, Dec. 3, to buy land of Mr. Ezra 
Thompson for a meeting-house. The Rev. Jesse Remington 
was the acting minister, and the town engaged him to supply 
the pulpits till the ist of March. Captain Nathaniel Holden, 
John Perham, Jr., Elijah Fletcher, and Zebedee Kendall were 
the selectmen. The town raised £,^0 for the support of the 
public schools. 



/) 



I^O HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l/^S 



C H A P r E R X . 

A Church Fast. — A Donation from Mrs. Sarah Winslow. — Names 
OF those voting its Acceptance. — People in the West Part op- 
posed to it. — The District of Tyngsborough incorporated. — The 
First School-House. — Certain Families received from Groton. — 
Singing in Church. — Removal of the Meeting-House to the Cen- 
tre. — Sale of Pews. — Dedication of the House. — Settlement of 
the Rev. Joshua Heywood. — Formation of a Baptist Society. — 
A Singing School. — Roll of Capt. Josiah Cummings's Company. — 
A Social Library. — Members. — Agricultural Library. — Several 
Persons annexed to the Town. — Opposition to the Bass-Viol. — 
Five School-Houses built. — The Tuwn of Tyngsborough incor- 
porated. — The First School Committee. — The Military Company 
AT THE Beginning of the War of 18x2. — Enlistments for the 
War. — Spotted Fever. — Death of John Woodward, Jr. — Death 
of Mr. Heywood. — His Character. — Mr. Silas Johnson killed. 
— Revival of Religion. — Universalist Society. — Groton Line 
straightened. 

" We know a bank whose vaults are well stored with the richest treas- 
ures. It has a perpetual charter, and is known as the Grand Bank 
OF Terra Firma, an entrance to which may be found on the sunny side 
of most of our hills." Family Visitor. 

" Happy the man whose wish and care 
A few paternal acres bound ; 
Content to breathe his native air 
In his own ground." Alexander Pope. 

On the 2 rst clay of February, 1788, the church held a solemn 
fast " to look up by Prayer to the Supreme Head of the Church 
for his Direction in Choise of a Minister," but it appears that 
no minister was found to suit all the congregation. The town 
appropriated ^30 "to hier preaching," ^^ 10 for the mainte- 
nance of the poor, and ^40 for the support of schools. James 
P. Hovey, one of the teachers, received ^3 6s. Sc/. for ten 
weeks' service. 



1789] ^'^^^^- fF/A':S-/.(7^F'.S' DONATION. i^I 

On the seventh day of January, 1789, Mrs. Sarah (Tyng) 
Winslow * made the town an offer of a considerable sum of 
money for the support of a minister and a grammar school, 
but the conditions were such as to cause a bitter feeling in the 
westerly part, and the incorporation of the easterly part into 
a district. Her proposals were as follows : — 

" To promote piety and learning in this town of Dunstable, & to unite 
the town in peace, I will give the income or interest of ^1,333 6jr. 8c/., 
lawful money, to ye said town, one half for the support of a minister and 
the other half for the support of a grammar-school for ever on ye following 
conditions, viz. : Provided the town shall settle a minister within one 
year, who shall be approved by the Congregational ministers in the five 
neighboring towns. That y<^ town repair ye east meeting-house, & that a 
meeting-house be forever upheld on the spot on which the said meeting- 
house now stands. Also, that a convenient house for a grammar-school 
be built within one year, as near the said meeting-house as the grounds 
will admit a house for said purpose, and on ye said ground, to be upheld 
forever, and such a learned and vertuous schoolmaster be provided, as the 
President of ye University in Cambridge shall recommend. Provided 
likewise that I am not held to pay parish taxes, nor any more expenses 
for the support of a school in said town. If the town accept of ye fore- 
going proposals & conditions, I agree to give them security for the per- 
formance thereof on my part. 

"Sarah Winslow. 

"Dunstable, Jany. 7, 17S9." 

The town voted on the ensuing day to accept the benefac- 
tion ; but it will be seen by the names of the voters below that 
but few from the west section were present : — 

John Tyng, Jr. Eliphalet Breed. 

Reuben Butterfield. Jonathan Per ham. 

Joseph Upton. Jonathan Bancroft. 

Nathaniel Holden. Elijah Perham. 

John Haddock. Charles Flint. 

Ezra Thompson. Peter Perham. 

Nathan Thompson. Abner K. Butterfield. 

John Farwell. Jonas French. 

Samuel Roby. Oliver Farwell. 

Asa Thompson. * Josiah Danforth. 

John CUxMmings. Ebenezer Bancroft. 

* Madam Winslow, as she was called, died Oct. 29, 1791, aged 72 years. 



ir2 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1789 

Joel Spaulding. Caleb Coeurn. 

John Perham, Jr. Eleazer Coburn. 

Joseph Butterfield, David Gould. 

Oliver Cob urn. William Perham. 

Isaac Pike. James Butterfield. 
Asa Underwood. 

The town voted, Jan. 29, ^100 for repairing the east meet- 
ing-house, for building a school-house, etc., in accordance with 
Mrs. Winslow's offer, but all persons living three miles west 
of said meeting-house and two and a half miles east of the 
Merrimack River were to be exempt from taxation therefor. 
As the people of the west part of the town were decidedly 
opposed to the conditions of Mrs. Winslow's donation, she de- 
termined, April 28, that if she might retract her proposal she 
would make it to " the people that lately formed the First 
Parish and to such others as will cheerfully accept of it." 

At a meeting of the citizens, held May 25, it was voted " that 
this town do relinquish their right to Mrs. Sarah Winslow's 
proposals to this town & that the persons mentioned in her 
letter to the town (April 28^'' last) have the benefit of her 
donation & that application be made to the General Court that 
they and their estates be incorporated into a district or sepa- 
rate corporation, so as that they may receive said donation." 

On the 22d of June following, what is now the town of 
Tyngsborough was, therefore, incorporated into a district, and 
received for its own use the donation of Mrs. Winslow, which, 
as a town, it still enjoys. 

On the 1 0th of August the town voted to build a school-house 
and to set it " on the great road and in the centre of the town 
according to pay & travel." Lieut. Joseph Fletcher was to have 
£,\^ for building it. The teachers this year were Susannah 
Bancroft, Mary Holden, Chloe Bancroft, Jonathan F. Sleeper, 
Joseph Dix, Aaron Small, and Samuel Smith. 

On the 2ist of December the town voted that Joseph Dan- 
forth should not be set off to Tyngsborough, and as a sort of 
compensation for the loss of persons uniting with that dis- 
trict, that James Blood and fourteen others, with their lands, 
should be received from Groton. 



lygo] THE REV. NATHANIEL LAWRENCE. 153 

The names of the inhabitants received from Groton at this 
time are as follows : James Blood, Silas Blood, Silas Blood, 
Jr., Henry Blood, Peter Blood, Caleb Blood, Amaziah Swallow, 
Caleb Woods, Nathaniel Cummings, Ebenezer Proctor, Silas 
Marshall, Silas Marshall, Jr., Levi Parker, Isaac Lawrence, 
Amos Woods, Nehemiah Gilson, and Caleb Woods, Jr. 

These persons dwelt along the valley of Unquetynasset 
Brook. The town voted that the meeting-house should be 
removed to within thirty rods of the school-house, and ^64 
were appropriated for that purpose. 

At a meeting of the church on the 2 2d of October, Elijah 
Robbins and Zebedee Kendall were chosen deacons. It was 
then voted that " Brother Zebedee Kendall shall Read the 
Psalm — a Vars at a time," also that he, together with Abra- 
ham and Jacob Kendall, " be a Committe to acquaint the 
Singers of their Desire in Regard to Singing." * The hymn- 
book now in use was the Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts, 
and it appears that the custom of " deaconing out " the lines 
was still in vogue. Dec. 22 Abraham Kendall and David 
Taylor were chosen as " Delligates to assist in Council In the 
ordination at Tyngsborough." A church was formed here, and 
the Rev. Nathaniel Lawrence (H. C. 1787) was ordained pas- 
tor, Jan. 6, 1790. This district contained at the time three 
hundred eighty-two inhabitants, of whom seventeen were 
colored. Dunstable contained, at the same date, three hun- 
dred and eighty inhabitants, of whom only one was colored. 
The Rev. Mr. Lawrence continued as pastor of the church in 
Tyngsborough until his sudden death, Feb. 5, 1843. He was 
buried in the old cemetery, about a mile northwest of Tyngs- 
borough Centre, and the inscription on his headstone is, " In 
memory of Rev, Nathaniel Lawrence who died on Lord's day, 
P'eb. 5, 1843, aet. 72-]-. Mr. Lawrence was a native of Woburn, 
Mass. He graduated at Harvard College in 1787, and on 
Janv 6, 1790, was ordained Pastor of the Congregational 
Society in Tyngsborough which relation continued 49 years. 
On the morning of Feb 5 he attended church as usual in 

* Church records. 



154 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l79I 

apparent good health, but on returning to his dweUing very 
suddenly expired. His death was that of the righteous & his 
last end like his." His wife Hannah died Sept. 20, 1835, in the 
seventy-second year of her age, and was buried beside him * 

On the 8th of February, 1790, the town held a meeting at the 
school-house, and chose a committee to remonstrate against 
Joseph and Josiah Danforth, Joseph Upton, and John Cum- 
mings being set off to Tyngsborough. 

The church edifice on Meeting House Hill was removed to 
Dunstable Centre in 1791, and finished in creditable style. 
A, cut of it is presented, and it will be seen that it bore exter- 
nally a close resemblance to the meeting-house in Mason, 
N. H. 

The land for the site of the building, consisting of one acre 
and one hundred and thirty rods, was well chosen, and con- 
veyed by Jonathan Proctor to the town in a deed bearing date 
Aug. 25, 1790, and it is described as "the land on which the 
school-house now stands, and bounded beginning at the south- 
erly corner of said land at a heap of stones by the road, thence 
running northerly about twenty nine rods to a heap of stones 
by a black oak tree, thence south forty four degrees west, twenty 
rods to a heap of stones, thence south six and a half degrees 
west, eleven rods and a half to a heap of stones by the great 
road, thence east eleven degrees south by the north side of the 
said road fourteen rods and a half to a heap of stones first 
mentioned." The deed contains this condition, " that the 
Inhabitants of the said Dunstable shall within the term of 
three years from the date hereof have caused to be erected 
upon the said land a Meeting House for publick worship and a 
School House and shall never suffer said land to be destitute 
of said buildings for more than three years at any time, and 
that no other building shall ever be erected on said land than 
such as shall be necessary to accommodate the Inhabitants 
when attending on Publick Worship."! 



*Tlie oldest, inscription in this yard is, "Here Lyes buried ye body of iMrs 
Huldah Thompson, daughter of Mr. Simon Thompson, who died 1752." 

t Though the conditions of the deed have not been met, the hind is still in the 
possession of the town. 



1793] DEDICATION OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. 155 

On the tenth day of August, 1792, David Fletcher, joiner, 
gave bonds to Zebulon Blodgett, town treasurer, to finish the 
meeting-house at or before the first day of July, 1794. He was 
to build thirty-three pews and a pulpit, " and the breastwork 
in the gallery not inferior to that in the meeting-house in 
Tyngsborough." 

It was delivered in presence of Joseph and Phineas 
Fletcher. 

By an act of the General Court, passed on the twenty-fifth 
day of February, 1793, about twenty Groton families living at 
Unquetynasset were annexed to Dunstable, leaving a bound- 
ary line with eighty-six angles between the two towns. The 
transferring of families with their farms, by an Act of the 
Legislature, from one town to another, that they might enjoy 
greater educational or religious privileges, has given very 
crooked boundary lines to many of our towns, and caused much 
inconvenience. Though parting with some of its people, a 
town should, on many considerations, retain its land. The 

act is thus referred to by Mr. Butler : — 

t 

"PARTS OF GROTON SET OFF TO DUNSTABLE. 

"By an Act of the Legislature passed Feb. 25, 1793, on the petition of 
sundry inhabitants of the north part of Groton, about twenty famiUes with 
their estates were taken from Groton and annexed to Dunstable. By this 
the jurisdictional line between the two towns formed 86 angles, and was 
attended with much inconvenience. It continued, however, to be the 
boundary line till Feb. 15, 1820, when by another Act a line was established 
taking one family and considerable territory from Groton and annexing it 
to Dunstable and forming but five angles." — Caleb Butler's History of 
Groton, p. 66. 

On the 26th of September, 1793, thirty-two pews in the 
new meeting-house were sold at public vendue, and Zebedee 
Kendall and Philip Butterfield were authorized to give titles to 
the same. Joel and Leonard Parkhurst bid oft" pew numbered 
two for the sum of ^15, to be used by themselves and heirs 
" so long as said meeting-house shall remain on the same spot 
of ground where it now stands." 

The edifice was dedicated to the service of God, " agreeable 



156 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l794 

to ancient example and more modern practices," on the sec- 
ond day of October, 1793. 

The following ministers were invited to be present, viz. : 
Mr. Emerson of Hollis, Mr. Chaplin of Groton, Mr. Kidder 
of Dunstable, N. H., Mr, Lawrence of Tyngsborough, Mr, 
Blake of Westford, and Mr, Bullard of Pepperell. The latter 
clergyman preached the sermon, and all the ministers were 
entertained at Mr, Isaac Taylor's at the cost of the church. 
On the 4th of November Joel Parkhurst was chosen deacon. 

The town this year " granted a bounty of one shilling for 
every old crow and six pence per head for every young one 
that may be actually killed within the town," It also allowed 
Robert Dunn, Oliver Taylor, and others liberty to introduce 
a Presbyterian minister a part of the time into the pulpit, 

PLAN OF DUNSTABLE TAKEN IN OCTOBER, 1794. 

" Course and distance of the East line of Dunstable beginning at the 
southeast corner thence north 2 degrees west 73 rods, thence north 20° 
W. 25 rods ; thence north 25° west 34 rods ; thence north 34° W. 11 
rods ; thenee north 72° W 14 rods ; thence N, 51° W "]% rods ; thence 
S 30° W 8 rods ; thence W 9° N. 10 rods ; thence N, 10° E 8 rods ; 
thence E 2° N 93 rods ; thence N 2|° E 580 rods ; thence 18° W. 114 
rods ; thence S 40° West 70 rods ; thence 6° East 41 rods ; thence W 8° 
S 43 rods ; thence N. i|° W. 50 rods ; thence N 74 rods ; thence N 30° 
East 14 rods ; thence E 1° N. 60 rods ; thence W 32° E 93 rods ; thence 
N 2_J^ E 66 rods to the Province Line. 

" Course of distance of the pricked line beginning at Massapog pond 
thence E 5° N 33 rods ; thence N 80° E. 138 rods ; thence N 11% E 170 
rods ; thence S 23° E 205 rods ; thence E. 26j^° N 330 rods ; thence N. 
33° W 36 rods ; thence E 8° N 60 rods ; thence N 12 W 24 rods ; thence 
E 5° N 102 rods ; thence E 2° N 40 rods." 

By this plan the town contains 9,584 acres, exclusive of 
Massapoag Pond and of what is claimed by Tyngsborough. 
The New Hampshire line is given as running west 8J° north 
four miles and 200 rods. The Massapoag Pond (74 acres) is 
included almost wholly within the town, and the Groton line 
touches the Nashua River, near the mouth of Unquetynasset 
Brook. 

Having heard the Rev. Jabez P, Fisher (B, U, 1788) for 



1799] "^^^ ^^^- ^^' ^^^y^VOOD ORDAINED. 1^7 

some time during the year 1794, the church voted, Dec. 4, to 
extend to him a call to settle ; but for some reason he declined 
to accept the position. 

At the regular town-meeting, March 6, 1797, it was voted 
to purchase a burying-cloth, and $133.34 were appropriated 
for the support of the schools. This is the first instance on 
the town records of the introduction of the decimal currency. 
On the 1 8th of March Leonard Parkhurst was appointed a 
coroner for the county of Middlesex. On the 19th of Novem- 
ber, 1798, the town extended a call to the Rev. Joshua Hey- 
wood, of Amherst, to become its minister ; and on the loth 
of December following it voted to concur with the church in 
its choice of Mr. Hey wood, and to give him $333 for a settle- 
ment, and $266.66 for his annual salary. A few persons, not 
entirely satisfied with the action of the church and town in 
respect to the settlement of Mr. Heywood, formed themselves 
into a Baptist society, which had but a brief existence. Their 
action is expressed in the following paper, copied from the 
town records : — 

" Whereas the people of Dunstable that are Congregationalists by pro- 
fession are about to settle a minister for the Inhabitants of this town, we 
whose names are hereto subscribed, think that the Baptist profession is 
much more agreeable to the Scripture of truth, & having formed a 
Society, we claim it as our right to choose our own teacher, & to con- 
tract with & pay him without molestation or subordination from any 
other, agreeably to our conviction. 

"Dec. 18, 1798. 

♦' Samuel Taylor. Jonas Taylor, Jr. 

Benjamin Swallow. Oliver Cummings. 

ZiMRi Kendall. Jonathan Proctor. 

Ebenezer French. Joseph Spaulding." 
John Ingalls. 

The ordination of Mr. Heywood took place on the fifth day 
of June, 1799, the following ministers taking part in the ser- 
vices : the Rev. Caleb Blake commenced with prayer ; the 
Rev. John Bruce preached the sermon, from Mark xvi, 15, 16 ; 
the Rev. John Bullard made the ordaining prayer ; the Rev. 
Henry Cummings gave the charge ; the Rev. Daniel Chaplin 
gave the right hand of fellowship ; and the Rev. Moses Brad- 



jcg HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [icSoO 

ford offered the concluding prayer. The expense to the town 
for the ordination was $23. 

At the incoming of the present century Dunstable was in a 
prosperous condition. Its population had increased to four 
hundred and eighty-five persons ; it had a good church edifice, 
a new and popular minister, and no very serious difficulty 
agitated the minds of the people. 

In April, 1800, the church chose Deacon Zebedee Kendall, 
Capt. J. Fletcher, and Capt. S. Stevens a committee to attend 
the meetings of the singing school, for the purpose of choosing 
leaders, and it also invited all " who are skilled in sacred har- 
mony to come forward and assist the church in that part of 
public worship." On the 4th of August the town voted to 
provide for each of its soldiers who should attend the muster 
to be held at Concord, 2 lbs. of beef, i lb. of pork, i^lbs. of 
cheese, and 4 lbs. of bread made of rye-flour ; also six ounces of 
powder. It also voted to the company one and a half barrels 
of cider and eight gallons of West India rum, the whole cost 
of which articles was $60.20. The following is the roll of the 
company : — 

Captain. 

JOSIAH CUMINGS. 

Lieutenant. 
JosiAU Stevens. 

Ensign. 
Abraham Swallow. 

Sergeants. 

Jonas Kendall. Jerahmeel C. Pratt. 

Jeptha Stevens. Isaac Woods. 

Dnivtmer. 
JosiAH W. Blodgett. 

Fifcrs. 

Philip Butterfield. James Cumings. 
Caleb Read. 



i8oo] 



A SOCIAL LIBRARY. 



159 



Henry Blood. 

Caleb Blood. 

Joseph Uennett. 

Thomas Bennett. 

JereiVuah Cumings. 

Nathl Cumings, 3. 

John Cumings. 

Michel Carter. 

Davis Chapman. 

Imly Corey. 

Amos Eastman. 

JoNA Emerson. 

Phinehas Fletcher. 

Joseph Fletcher, Jr. 

John French. 

John Foster. 

Peter Gilson. 

Wm. Hardy. 
^Temple Kendall, Jr. 
' JosiAH Kendall. 

Zebedee Kendall. 



Samuel Kendall. 
Joseph Parkhurst, Jr. 
Nathan Proctor. 
Peter Proctor. 
James Proctor. 
Elijah Robbins. 
Zachariah Richardson. 
Parker Stevens. 
Samson Swallow. 
James Taylor. 
Isaac Taylor, Jr. 
Daniel Taylor. 
JosiAH Taylor, 
Peter Turril. 
NoAH Woods. 
Jonas Woods. 
Amos Woods, Jr. 
John Wright. 
Eben Williams. 
Joseph Upton. 
Abijah Read. 
Total rank and file, 42. 



A social library was established in this town Feb. 17, 1800, 
and continued, until within a few years, to diffuse intelligence 
amongst the people. The names of the original shareholders 
are : — 



Capt. Jonathan Fletcher. 
Joel Parkhurst, Esq. 
Dea. Zebedee Kendall. 
Isaac Wright. 
Jonas Taylor. 
Caleb Woods. 
Silas Johnson. 
Temple Kendall. 
JosiAH Blodgett. 
Leonard Butterfield. 
Oliver Taylor. 
Lt. John Cheney. 
John Wright, 3d. 
James Taylor. 
Peter Proctor. 
Lt. Zebulon Blodgett. 
Sally Butterfield. 
JosiAH Kendall. 
Joseph Kendall. 
Dr. MiCAH Eldredge. 



JosiAH Stevens. 
Asa Woods. 
James Taylor, Jr. 
Caft. Philip Butterfield. 
Temple Kendall, Jr. 
Wm. French. 
Jerahmeel C. Pratt. 
Peter Swallow. 
Capt. Same Stevens. 
Allen Emerson. 
Zachariah Richardson. 
Daniel Taylor. 
Jeptha Stevens. 
Thomas Bennett. 
Timothy Woodward. 
JoNA Woodward, Jr. 
Nathl Cummings. 
George Betterly. 
Cyrus Taylor. 
JoNA Bennett. 



I 



j50 history of DUNSTABLE. [1803 

Amos Eastman. Jofx Keyes. 

Jere Cummings. Benj. Kendall. 

Asa Swallow. Leonard Kendall. 

Saml B^letcher. James Swallow. 
James Cummings. 

It continued till 1 841. 

An agricultural library was subsequently formed in town, 
but its. books, like those of the social library, are now scat- 
tered among the families. It is to be hoped that measures 
will soon be taken for the establishment of a permanent town 
library on a liberal basis. 

The town cast thirty-three votes for Joseph B. Varnum and 
ten for Timothy Bigelow, as representatives to Congress. 

In 1801 Isaac Wright, Jonas French, and Nathaniel Cum 
mings were chosen selectmen. Isaac Wright was chosen 
town clerk. The town gave forty-eight votes for Elbridge 
Gerry as governor, and chose the Hon. John Pitts representa- 
tive to the General Court. In September it voted " to fence 
their burial ground near Gersham Proctors." It also voted 
^60 for a bridge over Salmon Brook, and to open a road from 
Simeon Cummings's house across the said brook. The church, 
July 2, made choice of Isaac Taylor as one of its deacons ; he 
declined the office. 

The town voted in 1802 to have John Woods, John Woods, 
Jr., Thomas Bennett, and Ebenezer Proctor (of Groton) an- 
nexed to Dunstable. 

The ensuing year it voted ^40 for purchasing a set of weights 
and measures, and also to raise $30 for the support of a singing 
school. The territory of the town was divided in five school 
districts, and cattle and horses were not permitted to run at 
large, Abraham Swallow, Capt. Jeptha Stevens, and Ensign 
Peter Proctor, Aug. 29, took the oath of allegiance. 

Efforts at various times had been made to introduce the bass- 
viol into the church service, but serious objections were urged 
against it. One called it " the Lord's fiddle," and another said 
he should get up and dance if it came into church. At one 
meeting it was " voted to suspend the introduction of the Bass 
Viol for the present on account of an objection made by Lieut. 



i80Q] incorporation of TVArGSBOKOUGff. i6l 

Simeon Cummings " ; but on the 20th of March, 1804, the 
innocent instrument triumphed over all opposition, the church 
voting that the bass-viol be introduced into the meeting-house 
on days of public worship, and that those who have skill to use 
it, bring it and perform on Sabbath days. 

The Middlesex Canal, extending from Boston to a point 
about a mile above Pawtucket Falls, in the Merrimack River, 
and once considered a grand achievement, was opened this 
year, and by it transportation of lumber, cattle, and grain from 
Dunstable to the metropolis was facilitated. The canal was 
about twenty-seven miles long, thirty feet wide, and three feet 
deep, and served as a conveyance of merchandise from the 
Merrimack River to Boston until the opening of the Boston 
and Lowell Railroad in 1836, when the use of the canal was 
gradually superseded. Both of these institutions, in turn, 
advanced the agricultural interests of Dunstable ; and as the 
people for the most part manufactured their own clothing and 
supplied their tables from their farms, they did not suffer so 
much as those of some other towns in the war that followed. 
They raised more than they consumed, they paid but little 
regard to fashion, they were industrious, independent, and 
therefore prosperous. 

The town in 1805 provided a book containing the Constitu- 
tion of the United States for each of its schools, and the next 
year voted $700 for building five school-houses. A disagree- 
ment between Phineas Fletcher and the Rev. Mr. Heywood 
commenced this year, which two or three successive church 
councils could not remove, and which continued to disturb the 
harmony of the church for many years. It probably origi- 
nated in some trivial remark, and increased by its repetition 
until the whole community became weary of the contest. 

In 1807 a man was allowed $\ per day for working on the 
public roads. The meeting-house had not been entirely com- 
pleted, and it was voted in April " to sell ground for pews 
therein." 

The district of Tyngsborough was incorporated as a town 
Feb. 28, 1809, and the population of Dunstable was thereby 
greatly diminished. 
II 



l62 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[181I 



In May, 18 10, the town chose for the first time a regular 
school committee to visit and examine the schools in con- 
secutive order. The following persons were chosen : Paul 
Thorndike, Edmund Page * Nathaniel Cummings, Micah El- 
drelge, and Jonathan Bennett. It voted, Dec. 3, "to purchase 
a hearse for the town's use." The number of inhabitants at 
this time was 475. Capt. Jonas Kendall was the commander 
of the soldiers, whose names are contained in the following 
list : — 

I, the subscriber, do request of the Selectmen of the town of Dunstalile 
the quantity of powder allowed the soldiers by law. The following list 
contains the number of Soldiers in said town : — 



Jonathan Bennett, 
Amaziah Swallow, 
John Procfor, 
Francis Fletcher, 
JoNA. Proctor. 
Elijah Chapman. 
Mark Fletcher. 
John Gumming. 
Isaac Gumming. 
Davis Chapman, Jr. 
Kendall Cheney. 
John French. 
Wm. French. 
Nehemiah Gilson. 
Oliver Gilson. 
Richard Harrington. 
James Ingalls. 
Joseph Kendall, Jr. 
Saml. Kendall. 
Levi Kemp. 
Joel Keyes. 
Pkabody Keyes. 
Asa Lawrence. 
Edmund Page. 

Dunstable, Oct. 4, iSio. 



Seavgents. 



Clark Parker. 
James Proctor. 
Levi Parker. 
Nathan Proctor. 
John Pratt. 
Willard Robbins. 
Saml. Roby. 
Joseph W. Roby. 
David Swallow. 
Archelaus Swallow. 
Kendall Swallow. 
James Swallow. 
Abel Spaulding, Jr. 
James Taylor. 
Cyrus Taylor. 
Isaac Taylor, Jr. 
Samuel Taylor. 
Asa Woods. 
Henry Woods. 
William Woods. 
Isaac Woods. 
Gp:orge Wrkjht. 
Oliver Willoughby. 

Jonas Kendall, Caf't. 



By the State law passed in 1811, permitting persons to 
attend and support the worship of any denomination instead 



* He kept a store and tavern in the centre of the town, and held various public 
offices. 



l8ir] PROPOSITION OF MR. HEYWOOD. 163 

of that of the town, it was feared that by the withdrawal of 
many attendants on the ministry of Mr. Hey wood the burden 
of taxation might become very heavy on those that remained, 
and he, therefore, in a communication to the town, generously 
proposed to relinquish as much of his salary as would equal 
the amount of the deficit under the operation of the new law. 
The committee appointed to attend to this matter brought in 
their report as follows : — 

The committe chosen by the town of Dunstable at their last meeting 
Sept. 2, 18 r I, to represent to and consult with the Rev. Joshua Heywood 
respecting the State of public worship in the town, have attended to that 
service and offer the following statements of the Revr Mr Heywood as 
their report. 

Dunstable, Sept 14, iSii. 

Zebedee Kendall, 
MiCAH Eldredge, Comm 

Nathaniel Cumings, ' ittee. 
John Cheney. 

To THE Inhabitants of the Town of Dunstable. 

Gentlemen, Whereas your Committee chosen by you in town meeting the 
2d of September 181 1, have represented to, and consulted with me on the 
situation of the town respecting public worship, and having represented to 
me that there are, in the minds of many apprehensions of pecuniary embar- 
rassments in consequence of an Act passed at the last session of the 
General Court of this Commonwealth relating to religious freedom ; I do 
with their advice and concurrence, make the following statement to 
you : — 

As I did in my answer to the call given me to settle as a gospel minis- 
ter in this place bring to your view the impropriety of making the 
stipulation between a people and their minister, a matter of pecuniary 
speculation and as you complyed with it ; I ever thought that we were 
bound on both sides, never to do any such thing. I do therefore now 
most solemnly record my protest against it. 

But conceiveing it to be duty of a people and their minister to be always 
helpfull to each other ; under all difficulties and embarrassments ; to per- 
form this duty therefore towards you now labouring under apprehensions 
of embarrassment I propose to you that provided the said Act of the 
General Court, above mentioned, shall not be repealed ; but be put in 
execution to your damage, so that your ministerial taxes shall be increased 
thereby ; upon the valuations of your estates ; and provided there shall be 
a majority of the town, who attend the public worship of GOD with the 
Congregational Church of Christ, as heretofore done in the house now 



l64 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l8l2 

Ixiilt for that purpose, under the regular administration thereof ; which by 
divine Providence shall be provided, I will relinquish so much of my 
salery for the present year, as the increase upon their ministerial taxes 
shall be ; The year to begin the first of March, i8i i, and end the first of 
March, 1812. That no encouragement be taken herefrom by parties to 
the damage of the town, I reserve the consideration of any relinquishment 
in future years, to my own judgement of the circumstances which may 
then exist. 

My design and intent, in this proposal and engagement is to relieve 
the town from their present apprehension and embarrassment, and to 
have them attend on the public worship of GOD in as orderly and regu- 
lar manner as they can under the present difficulties, and to prevent the 
introduction of such irregularities as would be to the damage of the town 
and church. 

If this proposal give satisfaction to your minds, and meet your approba- 
tion and you use your endeavours to carry the things proposed into effect, 
then this instrument by me signed shall be in full force, otherwise it shall 
be void and of no effect. 

Joshua Heywood. 

DUNSTAIiLK, Sept. nth i8ii. 

A few soldiers from Dunstable engaged in what was called 
Mr. Madison's war of 18 12, and it will be seen by the follow- 
ing paper that the town supplied them with ammunition : — 

SOLDIERS OF THE WAR OF 1812. 

DUNSTAKLE, July I, l8l2. 

We the subscribers have each received of the Selectmen of the Town 
of Dunstable twenty-four cartridges with balls, also two flints each, it 
being in full of our respective shares of the .town stock, which we severally 
promise to return to the said Selectmen at the expiration of the term for 
which we are engaged, if the same shall not be actually expended in the 
service of the United States : — 

Jesse Blood, Corp. John Pkatt. 

Oliver Gil.son. Nathan Procior. 

Abel Johnson. Henry Woods. 

Benjamin Wetherbee. 

In addition to the above, Peter Kendall went into the war, 
came home sick, and hired Nehemiah Gilson as a substitute. 
Noah Woods enlisted, and served through the whole war. 
Isaac Gilson, Jonathan Woodward, Jr., Jonathan Swallow, Jr., 
and Samuel Kendall were in the war. Jonathan Emerson and 



1 8 13] ^ MALlGN-ANT FKVr.R. • jg^ 

Benjamin Parker also enlisted, and both died at Sackett's 
Harbor. 

In 1812 the town " voted and chose Isaac Taylor, Jr., to 
attend funerals with the hearse, & to allow him $i for each 
funeral he should attend." This year was very damp and cold. 
A snow-storm commenced on the 4th of May, and continued 
twenty-four hours. Very little Indian corn came to maturity. 

In 18 13 the town cast sixty-five votes for Joseph B. Varnum, 
of Dracut, as governor. The school committee consisted of 
Deacon Zebedee Kendall, Edmund Page, Davis Chapman, 
Mark Fletcher, and James Taylor. The last-named citizen 
was chosen, Sept. 19, deacon of the church. 

Of those doing service in the army at this time, Orderly 
Sergeant John Woodward, Jr., died at Sackett's Harbor, Sept. 
4, and a sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Heywood at 
Dunstable, Oct. 24, in commemoration of the virtues of this 
brave soldier. The sermon was afterwards published. In a 
letter to his parents, dated Sackett's Harbor, Aug. 17, 1813, 
Sergt. Woodward says, " Gen. Harrison has taken Gen. Proc- 
tor's army. It is said that he took six hundred men, which 
I suppose to be true. It is expected that our fleet will have 
this day an engagement with the British fleet. If they should 
capture them, it is thought there will be peace." Of Sergeant 
Woodward his captain, Horace H. Watson, wrote, " As a man 
he was honest, upright, and virtuous ; as a soldier, prompt, 
attentive, and respectful ; and as a Christian, sincere, mild, 
and forgiving." His remains repose in the Central Cemetery, 
and the inscription on his headstone is : — 

*' In memory of Mr. John Woodward Jr., who died Sept. 4, 1813, 
aged 23 years. 

Sacketts Harbor is the place 
Where my body lies at rest 
There at rest it must remain 
Till the dead are raised again." 

The spotted fever, fastening on the robust and strong as well 
as on the weak and feeble, proved very fatal during the year 



1 66 • HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE [1814 

1813. The following persons died, mostly by this disease, dur- 
ing the course of the year : Mary, daughter of Leonard Butter- 
field, Jan. 22, aged 15 years ; Benjamin Estabrook, Jan. 24, 
aged 68 years ; Elmira, daughter of Capt. Kendall, Jan. 27 ; 
Mary Blood, widow of James Blood, Feb. 1 1, aged 88 years ; 
Asa Swallow, aged 45 years, Feb. 15 ; Caleb Blood, Feb. 23 ; 
Joseph Parkhurst, aged 6"] years, March 7 ; Sarah, wife of Isaac 
Taylor, aged 59 years, March 10 ; Lieut. Zebulon Blodgett, 
aged 60 years, March 21 ; Sarah, wife of Peter Blood, March 
22 ; Capt. Jonathan Fletcher, aged 72 years, March 28 ; Peter 
Swallow, aged 69 years, April 7 ; Ensign Samuel Fletcher, 
April 10; Nathaniel Cummings, aged 45 years, April 17; 
Edmund, son of Silas Parkhurst, aged 2 years, April 18 ; 
Edward Kendall, aged 78 years, May 26 ; Betsy Robbins, July 
22 ; Mary, wife of Jonas Taylor, Dec. 5 ; Gershom Proctor, 
Dec. 17, aged 60 years. Such a fearful mortality the town had 
never before experienced, nor was the cause of the fever ever 
satisfactorily determined. Sybil, widow of Capt. Oliver Cum- 
mings, who died Dec. 16, of the preceding year, was the first 
victim of the disease. Though many were sick with this fever 
in Tyngsborough at the time, the whole of them recovered. 

On the 8th of October, 18 14, Mr. Silas Johnson was acci- 
dentally killed by falling from an apple-tree on the northerly 
side of Forest Hill. The sad event is thus recorded on his 
headstone in the Central Cemetery : — 

" In memory of Mr. Silas Johnson who was killed by a fall 
from a tree oct. 8 1814 aged 69 years. 

Alas, how distant was the thought 

When I the tree ascended, 
That I should to the ground be brought, 

And there my life be ended." 

His widow, Rebecca Johnson, died Oct. 19, 1823, aged 60 
years. 

On Nov. II, 1814, the town was called to deplore the loss 
by death of its beloved pastor, the Rev. Joshua Heywood. He 
was buried on the 14th, the Rev. Daniel Chaplin, of Grotun, 



l8l5] PROSPERITY OF THE TOJV.V. i^y 

preaching the funeral sermon from Revelation xiv, 13. " Blessed 
are the dead which die in the Lord." Mr. Heyvvood was 
graduated at Dartmouth College, in the class of 1795. He 
married Lydia French, of Boston, Jan. 27, 1800. He was a 
large man, of dark complexion, dignified and courteous in his 
demeanor, and highly respected by all who knew him. He was 
buried in the Central Cemetery, and the following words are 
inscribed on his headstone: — 

"In memory of Rev. Joshua Heywood, who died Nov. ii, 1814, 

AGED 51. 

Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear 
Invades thy bounds : no mortal woes 

Can reach the peaceful sleeper here 
While angels watch the soft repose." 

The signal victory of Gen. Andrew Jackson over the British 
forces under Gen. Packingham, at New Orleans, on the 8th of 
January (1815), terminated the war, and on the eighteenth 
day of February following, President James Madison issued a 
proclamation of peace. This was hailed by the people of 
Dunstable with the liveliest expressions of joy. A day was 
set apart for the celebration of the gladsome event, and three 
companies, one consisting of veterans of the Revolution, an- 
other of the enrolled militia,, and still another of the boys of 
the town, paraded on the Common. The people assembled in 
their gala-day attire, and when the soldiers had gone through 
with their evolutions, all partook of a bountiful collation, and 
then, repairing to the church, they listened to a patriotic 
address from the Rev, John Peckins, a Baptist minister of 
Chelmsford. 

In the general prosperity which followed the long and 
exhausting war, Dunstable, though not in a condition to 
engage directly in the manufacturing interests then absorbing 
the attention of the State, made improvements in its tillage, 
in its roads, its schools, and private residences. The people 
increased in wealth, in numbers, and intelligence. The barns 
were filled with plenty, and a more generous style of living 
soon became apparent. Newspapers were taken, the chaise 



l58 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1816 

and Jersey wagon began to appear in the streets, the singing 
school was well patronized, a better kind of headstones were 
raised over the dead, and the use of ardent spirits was aban- 
doned at church festivals and funerals. 

The town, in concurrence with the church, voted, July 24, 
1815, to extend a call to Mr. Levi Hartshorn, of Amherst, to 
settle with them as pastor, offering him $400 for a " settle- 
ment" and $450 per annum for salary, but he declined, Sept. 
4, to accept the office. 

On the second day of September occurred what was long 
known as " the great gale." The wind blew with such violence 
from the southeast and south as to overturn fences, chimneys, 
fruit and forest trees, and in some instances, barns and dwell- 
ing-houses. About sixty chimneys were blown over in Boston, 
and seventeen houses were unroofed in Dorchester. A poet 
wrote of it, — 

" For low the favorite elms are laid, 
Which wrapped me in their folding shade, 
While the rich fruit tree's nectared store 
Will wave its blooming gold no more." 

Coln7nbian Ccntinel, September, 18 15. 

This was the severest storm that had occurred in New 
England since Aug. 15, 1635, when, according to the histo- 
rian William Hubbard, "many houses were blown down, 
many more uncovered. The Indian corn was beat down to 
the ground so as not to rise again. The tide at Narragansett 
rose twenty feet perpendicularly. The Indians were obliged 
to betake themselves to the trees, and yet many of them were 
drowned by the return of the tide before the usual hour." 

The year 1816 was remarkable for the severity of the cold. 
Frosts appeared during each of the summer months, and the 
crop of Indian corn was mostly destroyed. A large spot was 
observed upon the disk of the sun, and on the 9th of June 
there was a fall of snow. 

On Sept. 16 of this year the town concurred with the 
church in calling the Rev. Luther Wright (H. C. 1796) to be 
their minister, but he also gave a negative to the invitation. 



,Si8] ADMISSIOAS TO THE CHURCH. 169 

In the year 181 7 the town raised $300 for schools, and the 
same amount for preaching ; it also repaired and painted the 
meeting-house. The pulpit was in part supplied by the Rev. 
Jabez P. Fisher. Dr. Micah Eldredge was the town clerk. 

The church in 181 7-18 18 was favored with an extensive 
revival, and as many as seventy-three persons, many of whom 
were heads of families, made a profession of religion. Of this 
revival the Rev. Dr. John Spaulding gives some account in a 
sermon preached in Dunstable, Nov. 19, 1865. He says that 
" in the latter part of August, 1817, the Rev. Jabez P. P"isher 
arrived in town and commenced a faithful proclamation of the 
gospel. By his advice the church soon appointed a weekly 
meeting to pray especially for the outpouring of the Holy 
Ghost. If the Sabbath school was a bow of promise on the 
cloud, this meeting was the bow reduplicated. 

" The church then numbered but ten males and twenty-seven 
females, thirty-seven in all, and these resembled the weeping 
captives by the rivers of Babylon. Worldliness, Sabbath-break- 
ing, intemperance, and the like sins, had come in like a fiood. 
In the language of the church, as expressed and published by 
one of its officers, ' Mirth and vain amusements much en- 
grossed the attention of the young people. Others, more 
advanced in life, were unconcerned for their souls.' As the 
work (of the revival) went on, the public morals improved, and 
for years after few towns were more free from open immorality 
and vice." 

" On the thirtieth day of November four were received to the 
communion of this church on profession of their faith, on the 
first Sabbath in February thirty-two, on the 8th of March, 
five, and on other occasions seventeen, making fifty-eight new 
members, — more than doubling its number and quadrupling 
its strength. There were some fifteen others who gave cred- 
ible evidence of having passed from death unto life, whose 
youth or peculiar circumstances caused a delay of their pub- 
lic admission to the church. Thus it appears that seventy- 
three, or nearly one seventh of the entire population of the 
town (475), had recently been hopefully converted to God, and 
one fifth of the inhabitants were members of the church of 



J 70 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [iSlJ 

Christ." In speaking of those then converted, Dr. Spaulding 
said, " Of the fifty-eight received into this church as the im- 
mediate fruits of that revival, only six remain in town. Six 
have been excommunicated, two of whom have died. Of 
twelve dismissed and recommended to other churches, or lost 
sight of in other parts of the country, a majority are, doubtless, 
numbered with the dead. So also with the remaining thirty- 
four; their names are starred on the records of the church, and 
we trust they star the crown of their Redeemer in glory. At 
least five sixths of the sixty-eight have gone to their final re- 
wards, leaving only about fifteen survivors." 

" Thus star by star declines, 

Till all are passed awa}^, 
As morning high and higher shines 

To pure and perfect day ; 
Nor sink those stars in empty night, 
But lose themselves in heaven's own light." 

Sometimes you see the sun go down, shining as he departs 
with new brightness and glory. So some of them have de- 
parted. Some of those peaceful, triumphant death-bed scenes 
are still fragrant in your memories. Dr. Micah Eldredge was 
sustained in his last days and hours by the hope he received, 
the doctrines he cherished, the Saviour he embraced in that 
revival. Deacon Mark Fletcher literally slept in Jesus, so 
peaceful was his end. Deacon Isaac Taylor's mental faculties 
towards the last were clouded by disease, yet his whole Chris- 
tian life was the preface and commentary of a peaceful death. 
" The present number at this church," says Dr. Spaulding, in 
closing his address, " is sixty-nine, sixteen of whom are absent, 
leaving fifty- three, or one ninth of the population of the town 
(487), accessible members of the church." 

The first Sabbath school, consisting of twenty-six members, 
was organized early in the summer of 18 17, and Deacon 
Zebedee Kendall was one of the prominent teachers. '" Most 
of the hour in this school," says the Rev. Dr. John Spaulding, 
"was spent in repeating portions of Scripture arid sacred songs, 
committed to memory during the week." 



i8iS] 



UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY. 



171 



The following table is repr 



Rev. Josiah Goodhue . 

" Joshua Heywood . 

" Samuel H. Tolman 

" Eldad W. Goodman 

" Levi Brigham 

" Darwin Adams . 

" William C. Jackson, present pastor, 



Stated supplies, etc., 



nted from the address : — 



17 years, members admitted, 65 



15 
7 
4 

13 
7 
6 

69 
39 



30 
23 
23 
53 
16 
6 

216 
83 



108 



299 



A Universalist society was formed by citizens of Dunstable 
and the towns adjacent, and a constitution adopted, Jan. 21, 
18 1 8. The names of the original members of the society are 
as follows : — 



Israel Hunt. 
Edmund Page. 
Leonard' Parkh urst. 
Simon Thomtson. 
John Woodward. 
Jona. Woodward. 
George Johnson. 
Abel Spaulding, Jr. 
Caleb Rkad. 
Francis B.'Maxwrll. 
Clark Parker. 
James Whitney. 
David Jkwett. 
Wm. Cogswell. 
Jesse Blood. 
Abraham Blood. 
John Caldwell. 
Benj. Wilson. 
Wm. Lund. 
Eleazer F. Ingalls. 
Levi Wright. 
Isaac J. Sanderson. 
Peter Turrel. 
Levi Lund. 
Ezra Fletcher. 
Peter Blood. 
Henry Blood. 



Abel Johnson. 
Moody Robbins. 
Daniel Ingalls. 
William French. 
Temple Kendall. 
Jonas French, Jr. 
William Robbins, Jr. 
James Read. 
Nathl. W. Gilson. 
Jesse Johnson. 
Ephraim Johnson. 
LiBNi Parker. 
Daniel H. Lawrence. 
David Perham. 
Salmon Snow. 
Leonard Kendall. 
Elijah Robbins. 
Charles Parker. 
William Rop,y. 
Jesse Fales. 
Allen Perham. 
Ralph Perham. 
Jeremiah Upton. 
Asa Butteri-teld. 
Joseph Pierce. 
Thomas Read. 
Isaac Pike, 



172 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1820 



Samuel Roby. 
Theodore Woodward. 
Amaziah Shattuck. 
Samuel Davis. 
Wm. Whiting. 
Avery I'rkscott. 
Abijah Smith. 
Cyprian Bannister. 
Joseph W. Roby. 
Levi Kemp. 
Stephen Pratt. 
Nehemiah Gilson. 
Thaddeus Marshal'. 
David M. Combs. 
David Darling. 
JosKPH Pifrce. 
Hiram Kemp. 
Moses Glynn. 
Saml. Spaulding. 
Thomas Richardson. 
James Ingalis. 
Frederick Blodgett. 
Silas Blood. 
Thomas Lewis. 
Henry Parkhurst. 
Wm. Dane 



Joseph Ingai.ls. 
Josiah Danforth. 
Ebenezer Frost. 
Joseph Buti-erfield. 
Allen Pierce. 
Daniel Jaquith, Jr. 
Joseph Buttekfield, Jr. 
Thaddeus Blodgett. 
David Butterfield. 
Aaron Davis. 
Zekulon Blodgett. 
Elijah PYetcher. 
Aaron Andrews. 
Leonard Parkhurst. 
Noah Woods. ' 
i^EVi Blood. 
Henry Blood, Jr. 
Jefferson French. 
Jonas Parker. 
Nathl. Gilson. 
John Buttrick. 
John Spaulding. 
Reuben Shattuck. 
Parlin Rollins. 
Jefferson Taylor. 
Isaac P. Sanderson. 



Edmund Page, Esq., was chosen clerk of the society, and 
was annually re-elected to this office until 1828, when Temple 
Kendall took his place. 

The society used the old meeting-house as a place of wor- 
ship, and the pulpit was supplied by such preachers, holding 
liberal views, as could be from time to time obtained. Among 
them may be mentioned the Revs. Hosea l^allou, Paul Dean, 
Sebastian and Russell Streeter, Thomas Whittemore, d. d.» 
Thomas B. Thayer, d. d., and Joshua Flagg. 

The number of inhabitants in 1820 was 584. By an Act of 
the Legislature, passed Feb, 15 of this year, taking one family 
and some territory from Groton, the eighty-six angles formed 
between the towns in 1793 were reduced to the five which 
still remain. Tything-men were still chosen, Joseph W. Roby 
and Emerson Parker holding then that office. In April, Asa 
Woods, Caleb lilood, and James (or Jonas) Taylor, Jr., were 
chosen to " divide the use of the meeting-house," and the town 



l820] CENTRAL CEMETERY. 173 

also formed a sixth school-district, embracing the families of 
Peter, Henry, Henry, Jr., James, Ebenezer, Jesse, and Levi 
Blood, together with that of Amos Hutchinson, 

On the ninth of June Dr. Micah Eldredge, a man zealous in 
every good work, was chosen deacon of the church. 

Jonathan Bennett and George Wright built a tomb, on which 
their names are inscribed, in the Central Cemetery in 1821 ; 
John Kendall and Leonard Butterfield built another in the 
same year. The other tombs, made after the same style and 
facing the road, are those of D. Chapman and A. Spaulding, 
1836; Oilman Roby, 1840; Allen Cummings, 1840; Z. P. 
Proctor and.j. O. Taylor, 1840 ; B. and N. C. Kendall, 1840; 
John M. French, 1841 ; and Isaac Woodward, Jr., 1843. 



174 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l822 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Rev. Samuel H. Tolman installed. — Thomas Ralston and a 
Son drowned in Salmon Brook. — Mr. Tolman dismissed. — His Min- 
istry. — Rev. William K. Talbot. — A Post-Office established. — 
The First Parish organized. — The Orthodox Society formedand 
Church erected. — The Rev. Eldad W. Goodmaju settled. — A 
Cold Morning. — Various Town Officers and Aiwopriations. — 
The Rev. Dana Goodsell. — The Rev. Levi Brigham ordained. — 
Mrs. Roby killed by Lightning. — The Worcester and Nashua 
Railroad opened. — Names of Men liable to do Military Duty. 
— The Rev. Darwin Adams settled. — A Centennial Discourse. — 
Householders in 1856. — The Rev. John Whitney supplies the 
Pulpit. — The Rev. William C. Jackson settled. — Population in 
1S60. — Dunstable Cornet Band formed. — The Town's Activity 
in the War of the Rebellion. — Burning of the old Meeting- 
house. — Industrial Condition of the Town in 1865. — Names of 
the Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion. 

" One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh ; but 
the earth abideth forever." Solomon. 

" How blest the man who, in thesfe peaceful plains, 
Ploughs his paternal fields, far from the noise, 
The care, and bustle of a busy world." Michael Bruce. 

Although the church had been somewhat strengthened by 
a revival, it was still unable to support a minister, and there- 
fore applied, Feb. 7, 1822, to the Massachusetts Society for 
promoting Christian Knowledge for some assistance, repre- 
senting that " about one half the property of this town stands 
on sectarian grounds " ; that " the church had been destitute 
of a settled minister for seven years " ; that " the church now 
consists of about one hundred and five members " ; that " it is 
decidedly orthodox " ; and that " for nearly three years past the 
Rev. Samuel Howe Tolman has labored among us a part of 
the time," and that they had given him a call to settle over 



1 828] REPAIRING THE MEETING-HOUSE. 17^ 

the church for the term of five years. In reply to this petition 
the society agreed to pay, conditionally, $100 per annum 
towards the support of Mr. Tolman. He was, therefore, in- 
stalled over the church and society on the 12th of June, the 
Rev. William Fay, of Charlestown, preaching the sermon on 
the occasion. " The audience," says the clerk of the church, 
" was numerous, solemn, and attentive, and the music truly 
sublime and melting." 

Dec. 24 it was voted " to adopt into our church the use of 
the Select Hymns selected by Dr. Samuel Worcester, of Salem, 
Mass." This book took the place of the Psalms and Hymns of 
Dr. Watts. Several musical instruments, as the bass-viol, 
violin, and clarionet, had been introduced into the choir, and 
it does not appear that any one now objected to their use in 
the service of the church. 

The town raised, in 1823, ^300 to support the public schools 
and $150 to support the poor. It gave eighty-three votes for 
William Eustis, and twelve for Harrison G. Otis, as governor. 

Edmund Page, who kept a store at the Centre and took a 
prominent part in town affairs, was the town clerk in 1824, 
and the town records of this period are in good order. 

The town chose, in 1826, for its school committee, the Rev. 
Samuel H. Tolman, Dr. Micah Eldredge, Edmund Page, Jona- 
than Bennett, Joel Keyes, Mark Fletcher, and Chiles Kendall ; 
also Silas Blood and Capt. Peter Proctor, tything-men. Isaac 
Taylor, Jr., was chosen a deacon of the church ; Temple Ken- 
dall was the town clerk ; and $300 were raised for carrying on 
the public schools. 

On the 13th of September Miss Jane Parker was drowned 
by the upsetting of a boat in which she and four others were 
out on a pleasure excursion on Massapoag Pond. She was 
about twenty-six years old, and was buried in Groton, 

In 1827 it was voted to repair the meeting-house, by mend- 
ing the shingles, glass, canopy (that is, the sounding-board), 
and plastering. Five hundred copies of the Confession of 
Faith were printed early in the year and distributed among 
the members of the church. 

The selectmen for 1828 were Temple Kendall, Lieut. Francis 



176 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1829 

Fletcher, and James Swallow, Esq. Clark Parker was the treas- 
urer, and Capt. George Wright the pound-keeper. It was 
voted by the town in April " to pay for the Rev. Joshua Hey- 
woods grave stones." 

On the 1 8th of June the sympathies of the town were 
awakened by a very serious accident, an account of which was 
entered upon the town records. Thomas Ralston, his wife 
and five children, who were passing on foot through the town 
on their way from New Brunswick to Kingston, U. C, stopped 
to rest awhile at Massapoag Bridge across Salmon Brook. Here 
the oldest two sons went into the deep water below the bridge 
to bathe ; being unable to swim and alarmed at the depth of 
the water, the larger boy, aged eleven years, by clinching hold 
of some blades of grass, drew himself to the land. The father 
plunged into the water for the rescue of the other boy, whose 
name was Thomas Ralston, Jr., and who was nine years old, 
but becoming entangled in the mud and weeds, both were 
drowned together in the stream, leaving a wife and four chil- 
dren, far away from home, to mourn the loss. The remaining 
members of the unfortunate family were kindly assisted by the 
people of the neighborhood. 

The town gave sixty-four votes for Edward Everett and four 
votes for Daniel Richardson, as representative to Congress. 

For want of sufficient support, the Rev. Samuel H. Tolman 
was dismissed Jan. 28, 1829, from his pastoral relation with 
the church and society. 

Mr. Tolman was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1806, 
and was pastor of the church in Shirley from Oct. 20, 18 15, 
to Feb. 17, 1819. On leaving Dunstable, where his salary was 
only $200 per annum, he preached successfully in South Mer- 
rimack, Atkinson, Lempster, and other towns in New Hamp- 
shire. He was one of the trustees of the Groton Academy, 
from 1816 to 1840, when he resigned the office. He was a 
man of good abilities, and an earnest preacher of the gospel. 
On the dismissal of Mr. Tolman, the Rev. William K. Talbot, 
author of a treatise on English Grammar, supplied the pulpit, 
in part, from November, 1829, until April, 1831. 

A post-office was established in the town on the 13th of 



1830] 



CONGREGA TIONAL CHURCH. 



177 



February, 1829, and Josiah Cummings, Jr., was appointed 
postmaster. He held this office until March 4, 1840, when he 
was superseded by Mr. Ranson Fish, who held the office until 
June r, 1841. Mr. Josiah Cummings was then reappointed, 
and continued to hold the office until May 13, 1852, He died 
Sept. 19, 1864, aged eighty-one years. Previous to the estab- 
lishment of this office, the people received their mail matter 
at the office in Tyngsborough. 

The population of the town in 1830 was 593, an increase of 
nine persons only in ten years. The town gave forty-seven 
votes for Edward Everett and seven for James Russell, as 
representative to Congress. 

It was this year deemed advisable by the evangelical part of 
the religious society to withdraw from the old meeting-house, 
and to build a new one. An advisory council was, therefore, 
convened Dec. 10, which unanimously recommended the pro- 
posed undertaking. Subscriptions were at once solicited, a 




THL I L L 1 lUhCH LDl 1 ILli 



site was purchased of Jasper P. Proctor * for the sum of gioo ; 
and the present neat and substantial edifice, under a contract 



* Son of Jonathan and Rebecca (Pope) Proctor, grandson of Ebenezer Proctor, 
one of the early settlers. Jasper P. Proctor was born Feb. 29, 1793, and lived in 
12 



1^8 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l833 

with William Rowe, of Groton, was soon erected. It was dedi- 
cated Dec. 21, 183 1, the Rev. Amos Blanchard, d. d., preaching 
the sermon. 

The Orthodox Church voted July 9, 1 83 1 , that " for the future 
we meet in the new meeting-house for divine worship on con- 
dition that the pews be rented and the rents be appropriated 
to the support of the gospel in the new house." 

At the same meeting the church extended a call to the Rev. 
Francis Danforth (Dartmouth College, 1 819), which he declined 
accepting. 

A call was then (Oct. 10) given to the Rev, Eldad W. Good- 
man, which he accepted. His installation and the dedication 
of the church occurred on the same day. 

On the 29th of December the First Parish was legally re- 
organized by the choice of parish officers, and a new book of 
records commenced by Temple Kendall, who continued to be 
chosen clerk until March 13, 1843, at which time the journal 
of the church terminates. 

Capt. Mark Fletcher was chosen Feb. 29, 1832, deacon of 
the Evangelical Church. He was the son of Phineas, and 
grandson of Deacon Joseph Fletcher, on whose place he was 
born Sept. 14, 1790, and died Aug. 4, 185 1. He married 
Rhoda Fletcher, Jan. 24, 1818, and had issue, Rhoda, Eliza- 
beth, Nancy C, Samuel M., George Washington, and Susan 
Lucretia. 

On the i6th of March, 1833, Venus Pitman, a woman of 
color, died. She is supposed to have been the last represent- 
ative of those persons once held as slaves in Dunstable. The 
town cast forty-seven votes in favor of and none against the 
third article of the Bill of Rights. 

the house on the easterly side of the Common. He married Mary, daughter of 
Henry Blood, and had issue, i. Mary Ann, born Nov. 8, 1821. 2. Josiah 
Cummings, born Aug. 9, 1817. 3. Jasper Pope, born June 4, 1819. 4. Dexter 
Putnam, born April 14, 1824. 5. Henry Oratius, born Jan. 7, 1828. Josiah C. 
Proctor, Esq., has taken great interest in the preparation of this history. He 
visited Dunstable, Eng., for the purpose of obtaining all the information possible 
in respect to the early settlers of his native town, and was most cordially enter- 
tained by citizens of the mother town. He married, first, Miss Clarissa E. Proctor, 
and second, Miss Emily C. Biden, of Rochester, N. Y. 



1835] DISMISSAL OF MR. GOODMAN. j^q 

On the 28th of May, Mr. William Taylor Wright, son of 
George and Elizabeth (Taylor) Wright, and born Feb. 25, 
1 81 3, was drowned while bathing in the Merrimack River. He 
swam out to a point in the stream where he supposed he might 
rest with his head above the water ; but the river being swollen 
he could not touch the bottom, and so, in his bewilderment, 
was lost. 

The town, in 1834, voted to appropriate $100 for a singing 
school, and chose Henry Parkhurst, Capt. George Wright, and 
Cyrus Taylor a committee to superintend the same. It also 
voted to surrender the burial-place in the vicinity of the house 
of Mr. Abraham Blood. This cemetery, in the western part 
of the town, has many graves and one or more tombs contain- 
ing members of the Blood family, but no inscriptions, except 
of recent date. 

The town gave the collectors eight mills per dollar for col- 
lecting the taxes. Temple Kendall was the town clerk. 

Both the town and church sustained a serious loss this year 
in the removal of Dr. Hezekiah Eldredge and his wife to Pem- 
broke, N. H. 

Deacon Joseph Swallow was chosen superintendent of the 
Sabbath school, which was in a flourishing condition. 

The morning of Jan. 4, 1835, is said to have been the coldest 
ever recollected in this region. The mercury fell from 18° 
to 40° below zero, and ranged very low for the six mornings 
following ; but the dwelling-houses and barns of Dunstable 
were so well built as to render the people and their stock of 
cattle comfortable. 

The town gave forty-four votes for Edward Everett (Whig), 
and twenty-six votes for Marcus Morton (Democrat), for gov- 
ernor. 

On the 25th of August the Rev. Mr. Goodman, at his own 
desire, was dismissed from the pastorate of the Evangelical 
Church. He was an esteemed and faithful minister, but his 
salary was hardly adequate to his support. In his communi- 
cation to the church, Aug. 17, 1835, relative to his dismission, 
he truly said, " No minister of the gospel can tell how much 
evil he prevents^ though he may not see much positive good 



l8o HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [184I 

effected by a preached gospel and pastoral duties." He resides 
at Lake George, N. Y. 

The church and society raised this year ^150 for the pur- 
pose of founding a scholarship in Oberlin Institute, Ohio. 
This was done mainly through the efforts of the Rev. John 
Spaulding, who had in 1828 married Miss Olive C. B. Kendall, 
of this town, and who had been assisted by the church in ob- 
taining his education. 

On the 8th of October the church extended a call to the 
Rev. Dana Goodsell, who had for some time been supplying 
the pulpit. He declined to settle as pastor, but continued his 
labors here until August, 1836. 

The town expended in the year last named $350 for public 
schools and $400 for repairing highways. It also voted to 
repair the bridge over Unquetenasset Brook. 

On the 15th of March, 1837, the Rev, Levi Brigham was 
ordained pastor of the Evangelical Church. Henry Parkhurst 
was the town clerk. The town chose the year ensuing the 
Rev. Levi Brigham, Josiah Cummings, Esq., and Peter Kendall 
for the school committee. It voted not to choose tithing-men, 
and elected Mial Davis " to repair the fence around the bury- 
ing-ground at the old meeting-house place." It gave sixty-two 
votes for Edward Everett and sixty-five for Marcus Morton as 
governor. 

Mrs. Catharine (Parker) Roby was struck by lightning June 
17, 1838, and died in consequence on the 21st of June following. 
She had hurried home from church, and was standing opposite 
to a looking-glass, with a silver comb in her hair, when the 
accident occurred. 

Peter Kendall was, in 1839, chosen town clerk. 

The number of inhabitants in 1840 had risen to 603, and 
the valuation of the town to $191,314. 

Mr, Jonathan Woodward died Dec. 24, at the advanced age 
of loi years, 7 months, and 13 days. His wife Sarah died Feb. 
28, 1829, aged 86 years. 

For the proposed amendment of the Constitution the town 
gave two votes in favor and eighty in opposition. In 1841 it 
appropriated $350 for the public schools, and sent Peter Kendall 



1848] ADDITION TO THE CENTRAL CEMETERY. xZ\ 

representative. It gave seventy-five votes for Marcus Morton 
and sixty-one for John Davis as governor. The Rev. Levi 
Brigham was elected a trustee of Pepperell Academy. It 
appears the next year that the town was entirely out of debt, 
and the rate of taxation was low. In 1843 Henry Parkhurst 
was chosen " to get the school district library." This was 
an appropriation from the State. For Marcus Morton seventy- 
four votes were thrown, and for George N. Briggs fifty-nine, 
as governor. 

In 1844 the town appropriated $350 for the support of public 
schools, which were taught mostly by young ladies ; and it 
cast seventy-five votes for George S. Boutwell, of Groton, and 
seventy-three votes for Amos Abbott, as representative to 
Congress. Mr. John Cummings died Jan. 30, 1845, aged sixty- 
three years, and was buried in the Central Cemetery. Though 
not a member of the church, he honored it by a donation of 
^500. This was the only donation of any considerable amount 
the church had until then received. 

The town appropriated ^400 for the use of public schools in 
1845 ; and it chose Peter Kendall, John Kendall, and Benja- 
min French selectmen. It gave Isaac Davis, of Worcester, 
sixty-six votes, and George N. Briggs, of Pittsfield, forty-eight 
votes, for governor. Mr. John Hayward said, in the meagre 
account of Dunstable in his Gazetteer of Massachusetts, pub- 
lished in 1846, "The soil is sandy, and generally unproductive 
of other crops than hops and rye." This is manifestly incor- 
rect, the land being well adapted to the growth of all the cereals, 
and as good as that of any other town in this section of Mid- 
dlesex County, 

The sum of ^400 was, in 1847, appropriated for public 
schools, and it was voted to build a town-tomb ; but this vote 
was reconsidered. John Kendall was the moderator of the 
annual March meeting. 

In 1848 the amount appropriated for public schools was 
raised to $500. Warren Wilson was chosen town clerk, and 
the town voted " to pay for powder, and for sharpening stone 
tools used on the highways." It voted, also, " to purchase 
two acres of land of Deacon Thomas Parker, to be added to 



1 82 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1850 



the old burying-ground on the south side." This was the 
Central Cemetery, which, having been for many years almost 
the only place of interment, had become so crowded with 
graves that a space more ample was demanded. 

The Worcester and Nashua Railroad, which enters the town 
from Pepperell, and passes along its western border near the 
Nashua River into Nashua, was opened on the i8th of De- 
cember ; but as it is remote from the centre, and leads to 
Boston by a circuitous route, it has been of but little service 
to the place. It has no station in the town. 

The Rev. Levi Brigham, Miles Spaulding, and Daniel Swal- 
low were the school committee in 1849, and the schools are 
said to have been in excellent condition ; the roads were also 
kept in good repair. The town voted "not to buy the new 
meeting-house for a town-house." 

The population in 1850 was 590, — a decrease of sixteen for 
the last ten years. 

The names of the men then liable to do military duty are 
as follows : — 



George C. Blodgett. 
James Bennett. 
Leonard S. Butterfield. 
Asa T. Butterfield. 
Charles Baldwin. 
John B. Cheney. 
Thomas F. Cheney. 
Amos Larkin. 
Isaac P. Cummings. 
William H. Duren. 
Joshua T. Davis. 
George W. Fletcher, 
Benjamin French. 
Thomas Frederick. 
Joel Gilson, Jr. 
William Gilson. 
Andrew T. Kendall. 
Henry Hale. 
Z. P. Proctor. 
Jacob Parkhurst, Jr. 
Jasper P. Proctor, 2d. 
Albert L. Parkhurst. 
Daniel Page. 
Sumner Parker. 



Stephen Moore. 
Ebenezer Marble. 
John W. Jewett. 
Jesse Johnson. 

GrLMAN ROBY. 

George Parkhurst. 
Charles E. Weston. 
James Spaulding. 
Hiram Spaulding. 
Oliver Taylor. 
Samuel Taylor. 
Kimball Upton. 
George P. Wrk;ht. 
Noyes R. Scott. 
Samuel Woods. 
Henry V. Warren. 
Isaac O. Taylor. 
Andrew Spaulding. 
Charles N. Woodward. 
James C. Woodward. 
Jonathan H. Woodward. 
Isaac N. Woods. 
David F. Rideaut. 
Jotham Robbins. 



1853] EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS. 183 

Thomas H. Parkhurst. Freeman Robbins. 

Walter Parkhurst. Jefferson Robbins. 

William H. Woods. William Simmons. 

Benjamin P. Rice. Peter Swallow. 

James M. Swallow. Alpheus Swallow. 

George Woods. Daniel Swallow. 



Freeman W. Marshall. 



Total, 61. 



The town voted, at one of its meetings, " to sell the old 
town standard at auction," and also to receive Ira Hall and 
Webb and Bowker, with their estates, from Groton. Warren 
Wils(in was the town clerk. Of the votes thrown by the town 
for governor, George N. Briggs had sixty, and George S. Bout- 
well seventy. The Rev. Levi Brigham was dismissed, at his 
own request, March 21, from the pastorate of the Evangelical 
Church. He was an able pastor and of great service to the 
town from an educational point of view. His successor, the 
Rev. Darwin Adams (Dartmouth College, 1824), son of the 
celebrated school-book maker, Daniel Adams, m. d., was in- 
stalled on the 5 th of September following, the Rev. Jacob 
Burnap, of Merrimack, preaching the sermon. The meeting- 
house, having been enlarged and repaired, was rededicated in 
connection with the other services. Miss Lucy Fletcher gave 
the church a pulpit, Dr. Daniel Adams presented to it a clock, 
and Mrs. Spaulding a set of chairs for the communion table. 
The salary of Mr. Adams was $500 per annum. Isaac N. 
Wright was chosen town clerk in 1851, and^450 were ex- 
pended for schools. 

The town gave fifty-two votes for Henry Wilson and forty- 
nine for Tappan Wentworth, as representatives to Congress 
in 1852. 

The Rev. Darwin Adams, Chiles Kendall, and Dr. Adonijah 
W. Howe were the school committee. Joel M. Oliver 
broke one of his legs through an imperfection in the highway, 
for which the town was subjected to some expense. Isaac 
Kendall represented the town in 1853 in the Constitutional 
Convention, having been chosen over Henry Parkhurst by 
sixty-one against fifty-six votes. The town committee, instead 
of the district school committees, were directed to employ the 



184 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1856 

teachers for the schools. This was a decided improvement 
on the old system, in which the committee-man usually selected 
a relative, whether good or bad, to teach the children of his 
district. The town voted in 1854 to sell the town buildings, 
now owned by Libni Parker, and they were bought by Liberty 
C.Raymond for the sum of $1,500, which was about $1,000 
less than the cost. 

In the autumn of the year 1855 Mr. Samuel Gilson, engi- 
neer, was killed by an explosion of the boiler of an engine on 
the Worcester and Nashua Railway. The accident occurred 
near the house of Mr. Newton Wright, in the western part of 
the town. 

Abijah Davis and E. G. Spaulding were chosen tithing-men 
in 1856, and it was voted to print one hundred and fifty copies 
of the selectmen's report ; but the report was reconsidered. 

According to the map of Middlesex County, published this 
year by Henry F. Walling, it appears that the following heads 
of families were then living west of Salmon Brook, in Dunsta- 
ble, viz. : — 

A. Blood, near Nashua River. 

Varnum Woods, near Nashua River. 

WiLLARD RoBBiNS, On Unquetenasset Brook. 

Isaac N. Wright, now Freeman L. Robbins's place. 

jotham robbins. 

Horace Lovering. 

David Rideaut. 

David F. Rideaut, son of the former. 

Noah Blood, deceased. 

Rebecca Proctor, daughter of Ebenezer Proctor. 

Isaac N. Woods. 

Joel Jilson. 

Mrs. Rhoda Fletcher, widow of Dea. Mark Fletcher. 

J. M. Swallow. 

Francis Fletcher, deceased. 

James Bennett, son of Jonathan Bennett, Esq. 

Daniel Swallow. 

J. Parkhurst, Jr. 

A. Swallow. 

E. Weston. 

T. Parker. 

Thomas F. Cheney. 



1856] 



FAMILIES BY MAP OF 1S56. 



18: 



Alpheus Swallow. Has a family of ten boys. 

John Swallow. 

S. Parkhurst. 

E. Parkhurst. 

Charles Baldwin. 

H. Parkhurst. 

E. P. Sanderson. 

I. P. Sanderson. 

Clement Marshall. 

T. H. Parkhurst. 

D. and E. G. Chapman. 

Sumner Woods. 

S. A. Lawrence. 

Mrs. Spaulding. 

J. GiLSON. 

I. N. Kemp. 

Clark Parker. 

Ira Hall. 

A. Bowers. 

Joel Keyes. Deceased. 

M. A. Bennett. 

I. W. Kemp. 

Mrs. John Cummings. 

Isaac N. Woods. 

There were, according to the same plan, then living on the 
easterly side of Salmon Brook : — 



Liberty C. Raymond, at the Centre. 
Asa Woods, " 

I. B. Hall, " 

Miles Blood, ♦ '' 

J. Cummings, " 

Jasper Pope Proctor, " 
Zephaniah p. Proctor, " 
•-W. Kendall, " 

William Dunn, " 

A. Parkhurst, " 
L. Whitcomb, " 
J. C. Woodward, ■' 
Reuben Wright, " 
James Woodward, " 
Charles N. Woodward," 

B. Parkhurst, " 
A. Parkhurst. 

A. Earns worth, near the Hne of Nashua, N. H. 



House built by Edmund Page. 



1 86 HISTORY OF 'DUNSTABLE. [l8S6 

D. W. Garland. 

William French (of Boston). 

Ebkn'r Stedman, house once occupied by Paul Thorndike. 

E. Swallow. 
J. Kendall. 

vChiles Kendall, Deacon, and son of Jonas, son of Jacob, son of John, 

the first settler, 1726. 
Gilman Roby. 
I. Taylor. 
Jacob Parkhurst. 
Rev. Darwin Adams, now James Bennett's Place. House built by Rev. 

Levi Brigham. 
A. Jewett. 
James Blodgett. 

Nath'l C. Kendall, son of Benjamin and Sybil (Cummings) Kendall. 
M. Davis. 

L. Brooks [Estabrooks]. 

Benjamin French, grandson of Ebenr. French. 
I. P. Cummings. 

J. BURNAP. 

J. H. Kateley. 
L. Walton. 

George Wright, the old David Taylor place. 
JosiAH T. Cummings, son of Capt. Josiah Cummings. 
Leonard Butterfield, near an old garrison house. 
Leonard S. Butterfield, west of Meeting-House Hill. 
Asa Butterfield, " " " 

John Blodgett. 

C. Gilson. 
Kimball Upton. 
J. Blodgett. 

D. Richardson. 
Z. Proctor. 

C. Taylor. 

Henry Parkhurst, now John A. Parkhurst and brother. 

Peter Kendall, deceased. 

Zebulon Blodgett, very old house. 

Samuel S. Taylor, the old Steel Place. 

A. Spaulding. 

Allen Cummings, son of James Cummings. 

Amos Carkin, Forest Hill. 

Eben'r Gilson, " 

Alvah Gilson, " 



1859] VOTES FOR GOVERNOR. 1 87 

There were then a hotel and a bowling-saloon, owned by 
Peter Kendall, at the mineral spring, now covered by the 
waters of Massapoag Pond. The two store-keepers were 
William Dunn and Liberty C. Raymond. 

In 1857 Lawrence Brooks was paid for playing the seraphine 
in the Evangelical Church. James T. Burnap, Andrew Spaul- 
ding, and Thomas H. Parkhurst were the school committee for 
that year, and ^500 were set apart for the support of public 
schools. On Sunday, the loth of May, the Rev. Darwin Adams 
preached a centennial discourse, it being one hundred years 
from the organization of the church in the town of Dunstable ; 
but the discourse was never printed. Mr. Thomas F. Cheney 
was employed to bring the mail from Tyngsborough from 
July I, one year. Captain Amaziah Swallow died Oct. 6, aged 
seventy years, and Mr, Josiah Spaulding, aged ninety-three, on 
the 1 8th of November. Both of them had served the town in 
various public offices, and were highly respected. On the 22d 
of September the Rev. Darwin Adams* was, after a faithful 
and affectionate ministry of about seven years, dismissed, and 
the Rev. John Whitney, of Waltham, then supplied the pulpit 
until November, 1858. 

The selectmen of 1858 were Thomas Parkhurst, Benjamin 
French, and Andrew Spaulding, the latter serving as moderator 
at the annual meeting in March. It was voted this year, " to 
improve the burying-ground by setting out shade trees." This 
was sadly needed, and though the spot is beautiful, it is hoped 
some further decorations will be made. The dwellings of the 
dead must never be forgotten ; the cemetery should be ren- 
dered one of the most charming places of the town. 

In 1859 Dunstable gave four votes for and thirteen against 
the amendment of the Constitution, and for governor it cast 
forty-three votes in favor of Nathaniel P. Banks, thirty-six in 

* The Rev. Darwin Adams resides in Groton, In a recent letter to me he 
says, " There was nothing very interesting that occurred during my ministry in 
Dunstable, excepting that the meeting-house was enlarged, repaired, and very 
much improved. My installation and the rededication of the house took place 
the same day, Sept. 5, 1850. At that time there was quite a respectable congre- 
gation in attendance on the Sabbath, but deaths and removals have reduced the 
number until it has become quite small." 



1 88 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1861 

favor of Benjamin F. Butler, also four in favor of George N. 
Brings. 

The Rev. William C. Jackson (Dartmouth College, 183 1), 
of Lincoln, was installed over the church, Nov. 2, 1859, with 
a salary of $500 per annum and the use of a parsonage, built 
at a cost of about $1,000 ; and in April following, Joseph 
Swallow was chosen a deacon. 

The number of inhabitants in i860 was four hundred and 
eighty-seven, of whom two hundred and forty-three were 
males and two hundred and forty-four females ; eleven were 
over eighty and one was over ninety years old. None were 
colored, nor was any one insane, idiotic, deaf and dumb, or 
convicted of a crime. This is a strong argument in favor 
of rural life. There were eighty farmers, four merchants, 
and five school-teachers, four of whom were females There 
were in all one hundred and twenty-two dwelling-houses and 
one hundred and twelve families. Jonas C. Kendall was 
chosen one of the school committee for three years. James 
T. Burnap was chosen town clerk, and $500 were appropri- 
ated for the use of the public schools. Thomas F. Cheney 
received fifty dollars for carrying the mail to and from Tyngs- 
borough for one year, ending on the first day of July. 

The selectmen for 1861 were Isaac Kendall, James M. 
Swallow, and Ashur G. Jewett. The town gave forty-five 
votes for John A. Andrew and the same number for Isaac 
Davis as governor. Mr. Jonas Kendall, of Chicopee, presented 
a silver communion service and a baptismal basin to the 
church. The men appointed for jurors were James Spaulding, 
Allen Cummings, James T. Burnap, Benjamin French, Libni 
Parker, Samuel S. Taylor, Andrew Spaulding, and A. G. 
Jewett, 

Levi M. Nutting, aged sixteen years, and son of Narcene 
and Philinda Nutting, was drowned while bathing in Salmon 
Brook at Cheney's Bridge on the 30th of June of this 
year. While such painful accidents are soon forgotten in 
a large city, they for a long time dwell in the memories of 
the people of a rural village, where casualties much less 
frequently occur. 



1864I OLD MEETING-HOUSE DESTROYED BY FIRE. jgg 

The Dunstable Cornet Band was organized Sept. 15, with 
Hiram Spaulding as leader, treasurer, and collector. It has 
attained an enviable reputation for skill in its musical perform- 
ances as well as for the gentlemanly bearing of its members. 
Its services are in good demand on public occasions in all the 
neighboring towns. 

On the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, the town, 
alive to the interests of the Union, manifested great activity 
in the enlistment and support of the soldiers. In this patriotic 
effort to sustain the government, the ladies bore a conspicuous 
part. Volunteers came forward at the call of the country, and 
as many as sixty-four soldiers from Dunstable shared in the 
privations and battles of the war. 

Notwithstanding the pressure of the times, the town raised, 
in 1862, $400 for the support of public schools, and for the 
first time voted to have the annual report of the school com- 
mittee, at a cost of ^10, printed. It was voted, also, to remove 
the old school-house. July 26 it was voted to borrow, if 
needed, $500 for the volunteers. James T. Burnap was the 
town clerk. In 1863 it voted to put up guide-posts through- 
out the town, for which it paid about $50. J. C. Woodward 
was chosen town clerk, and Andrew Spaulding one of the 
school committee for three years. The school report was 
printed at a cost of $20. In the year following, Samuel S. 
Spaulding was appointed to take charge of the liquor agency, 
at a salary of ^12.50 for six months, and $45 were advanced 
for the fixtures. James C. Woodward was chosen town clerk, 
and Freeman L. Robbins one of the school committee. ^52.08 
were paid for guide-posts. The sum of ^500 was appropri- 
ated for schools, and it was voted " to sell the rubbish on the 
Common." John A. Andrew had fifty-eight and Henry W. 
Paine seventy votes from the town for governor. 

On the 8th of October the old church in the Centre, which 
had been the innocent cause of so many controversies, was 
reduced to ashes. It was never supplied either with an organ 
or with a bell. In front of the pulpit on the gallery was the 
inscription, " Finished in 1793." The old line of sheds for the 
horses and the stone horse-block now standing in the wall on 



1 90 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1865 



the side of the Common are the only memorials that remain of 
this ancient church edifice. 




THE OLD CHUKCH, BURNED IN li5t)4. 

The only ministers who preached in it permanently after 
the division of the society were the Revs. Hiram Beckwith, 
Russell Streeter, Josiah Oilman, and William Hooper, all of 
whom were popular preachers. The pulpit was occasionally 
supplied by the Rev, Hosea Ballou, the Rev. Adin Ballou, the 
Rev. Thomas Whittemore, and other clergymen of liberal sen- 
timents, but I do not find on the parish records when or how 
long they occupied the pulpit, or the compensation they 
received. 

By the State report the town had, in 1865, five hundred and 
thirty-three inhabitants, of whom two hundred and seventy 
were males and two hundred and sixty-three females. Nine 
were over eighty, and three were over ninety years old. 
There were only five persons of foreign birth in town. There 
were three blacksmith shops, employing three hands ; value of 
work done, $1,500. Four saw-mills, which turned out 360,000 
feet of lumber for market, valued at $36,000 ; also, shingles, 
lathes, etc., valued at $2,100. It sent eight hundred and two 
cords of fire-wood and bark to market, valued at $1,800, 



1865] DEATH OF HENRY PARKHURST, ESQ. igi 

2,400 bushels of charcoal valued at ^172. Farms, ninety, 
equalling 9,940 acres ; value, with buildings, ^252,305. Acres 
improved, So^o; hands employed, one hundred and four. 
Unimproved land, 2,995 acres; unimprovable, 310; woodland, 
1,325, valued at ^48,045. Corn (Indian), one hundred and 
seventy-five acres, bushels, 4,970, value, ^4,970 ; wheat, one 
acre, bushels, nine, value, $13; rye, sixty-five acres, bushels, 
four hundred and eighty-six, value; $486 ; barley, fourteen 
acres, bushels, two hundred and nineteen, value, $164 ; buck- 
wheat, seventeen acres, bushels, one hundred and thirty-one, 
value, $'j'^ ; oats, eighty-nine acres, bushels, 1,017, value, $610 ; 
potatoes, seventy-six acres, bushels, 4,853, value, $2,189 J Eng- 
lish mowing, nine hundred and forty-two acres, tons, seven 
hundred and twenty, value, $12,960; meadow and swale, 
seven hundred and eighty-eight acres, tons, five hundred and 
seventy-four, value, $4,532; apple-trees, 1,540, value, $762; 
nuts and berries, value, $26 ; sheep, 157, value, $1,053 ; wool, 
six hundred and seventy-three pounds, value, $370 ; horses, 
one hundred and thirteen, value, $7,645 ; oxen over four years, 
eighty-two, steers under four, fifty-nine, value of both, $7,152 ; 
milch cows, three hundred and ninety-two, heifers, one hun- 
dred and twenty-two, value of both, $13,242; gallons milk 
sold, 62,058, value, $8,998 ; butter sold, 9,341 pounds, value, 
$2,335 ; cheese, 3,630, $459 ; beef, dressed, 19,765 pounds, 
value, $1,383; pork, dressed, 46,204, value, $5,313; mutton, 
dressed, 175, value, $21; veal, dressed, 1,435, value, $114; 
swine, sixty-five, value, $964 ; poultry, value, sold, $572 ; eggs, 
sold, value, $640 ; honey, three hundred pounds, value, $60 ; 
other articles, value, sold, $300 ; cloth made in family, seventy- 
six yards, value, $'j6. 

The allowance for collecting the taxes this year was one and 
one fourth cents per dollar ; for the liquor agency, $49.17, and 
for the public schools of which there were five, $500. The 
sum of twenty cents per hour was paid for working on the 
highways. 

Henry Parkhurst, Esq., an active and useful citizen, died on 
the 4th of September, aged seventy-two years. He was often 
chosen moderator of the town-meetings, and served the town 



192 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1865 



in many other public capacities. A view of the house, built 
by his father, lieonard Parkhurst, about 1812, in which both 
Leonard and Henry lived, and now occupied by Messrs. 
Albert L. and John A. Parkhurst, is here given. 




HOMESIHAD OF JOHN A \NU \Llil T L P\UlvHUKSl. 

The names of the soldiers sent from Dunstable into the late 
war are as follows : — 

Anderson, Henry, private, three years. Thirty-second Regiment. 

Baker, Esau, served one year in the navy. 

Barnes, James, served one year in the navy. 

Bean, Francis, enlisted for three years Dec. 19, 1863 ; mustered in Jan. 

5, 1864, private, Company B, Fifty-ninth Regiment. 
Brady, Frederick, private, three years. Twenty-second Regiment. 
Burrows, Charles, volunteer, three years, private, Company K, Four- 
teenth Regiment. 
BuTTERFiELD, Dexter, enlisted and mustered in Oct. 14, i86r, three 

years, private. Company A, Second Regiment ; made a sergeant June 

I, 1864; discharged Oct. 14, 1864. 
Carkin, Harrison, volunteer, private. Company C, Fourteenth Regiment, 

U. S. A. 
Cheever, Alvi.m, enlisted and mustered in Aug. 31, 1862, for nine months, 

Company A, Sixth Regiment. 
Conway, Michael, private, mustered in Aug. 14, 1862, three years, 

Company G, Forty-first Regiment. 



i865j soldiers in the late war. ir)3 

Currier, Warren, 2d, enlisted and mustered in July 11, 1865, three 
years, Fifth Battery. 

Daglish, John J., enlisted and mustered in for one year Feb. 21, 1S65, 
Company F, Thirty-eighth Regiment. 

Dalyn, Simon, private for three years, mustered in Aug. 14, 1862, 
Company G, Forty-first Regiment. 

Davis, Ancil, private, nine months ; enlisted Oct. 12, and mustered in 
Oct. 17, 1862, Company G, Fifty-third Regiment; died of chronic 
dysentery at Baton Rouge, July i, 1863. 

Davis, James A., enlisted and mustered in as a private for three years, 
Oct. 14, 1861, Company A, Second Regiment ; wounded at the battle 
of Antietam and discharged ; re-enlisted for one year, Dec 30, 1864, 
Company E, Cavalry Frontier Service. 

Donahue, Patrick, enlisted and mustered in July 14, 1865, for three 
years. Fourteenth Battery. 

DouLEY, Joseph, enlisted and mustered in Aug. 31, 1861, nine months, 
Company B, Sixth Regiment ; discharged Nov. 2, 1862, for disa- 
bility. 

Doyle, James, private, three years. Fifteenth Battery. 

Eldredge, Frank W., private, three years. Twenty-sixth Regiment. 

Farrar, Edward, private, three years. Fifteenth Battery. 

Finley, Michael, three years, mustered in Aug. 14, 1862, Company G, 
Forty-first Regiment. 

Fletcher, Albert W., private, enlisted Sept. 2, 1862, for nine months, 
Company D, Fifty-third Regiment. On the night previous to the 
battle of Port Hudson he gave his knapsack and money to a wounded 
comrade, to be conveyed to his mother in the event of his being killed 
in the battle. He was last seen amongst his company bravely making 
the charge in the sanguinary contest of June 14, 1863. What more 
noble record could be made of him ? 

Foss, Charles V., private, three years, Company B, Fifty-ninth Regi- 
ment ; enlisted Dec. 19, 1863 ; mustered in Jan. 5, 1864. 

GiLSON, James H., volunteer, private, mustered in Aug. 6, 1864, for three 
years. Company K, Thirty-third Regiment ; farmer. 

Hartwell, Alonzo, private, three years, Company B, Fifty-ninth Regi- 
ment ; enlisted Dec. 19, 1863. 

Hartwell, Wakren, private, three years. Company B, Fifty-ninth Regi- 
ment ; enlisted Dec. 19, 1863. 

HiCKEY, James, enlisted Aug. 13, 1864, private, three years, Second 
Massachusetts Cavalr3^ 

Hinds, Hiram H., enlisted Aug. 8, 1864, Reserve Veteran Corps. 

HoBBS, George, three years, Fifteenth Battery. 

Hunter, George, volunteer, private, three years. Company K, Fourteenth 
Regiment. 
13 



IC)4 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1865 

Ingalls, James S., volunteer, three years, Company C, Twenty-sixth 
Regiment ; discharged and died at New Orleans. 

Jackson, Edward P., private, nine months, enlisted Sept. 26, 1862, 
Company D, Forty-fifth Regiment ; he was promoted to a corporal. 

Jaques, Josiah S., Company K, Thirty-third Regiment, three years ; 
mustered in Aug. 6, 1862. 

Jones, Cormely R., three years, enlisted and mustered in Aug. 8, 1864, 
Reserve Veteran Corps. 

Kahoe, Michael, private, three years, Eleventh Regiment ; enlisted 
Aug. 16, 1864. 

Kelleiky, James, three years. Twenty-eighth Regiment. 

Keyes, Peabody, volunteer, three years, Twenty-sixth Regiment. 

Keyes, Samuel P., volunteer, private, mustered for three years, Dec. 20, 
1 86 1, New Hampshire Eighth Regiment. 

Knights, Isaac S., private, enlisted for three 3'ears, Jan. 2, 1864, Fifty- 
ninth Regiment. 

Lyons, Thomas, private, nine months ; enlisted Aug. 31, 1862, Company 
K, Sixth Regiment. 

Marshall, George E., volunteer, private, three years. Company H, 
New Hampshire Seventh Regiment ; enlisted and was mustered in 
Oct. 14, 1 86 1. He died at Charleston, S. C, July 24, 1863, of wounds 
received at the storming of Fort Wagner six days previous. He was 
a prisoner at the time of his death. 

Mayo, Willard M., enlisted as a private and volunteer Oct. 14, 1861, 
in Company H, New Hampshire Seventh Regiment, and was killed 
July 18, 1863, at the storming of Fort Wagner, in Charleston Harbor. 

Murray, Michael, enlisted and was mustered in Aug. 19, 1864, Com- 
pany G, Seventeenth Regiment. 

Osborne, Prescott E., private, three years, Twenty-sixth Regiment. 

Page, David H., private, volunteer, three years, Company C, Twenty- 
sixth Regiment. Died at New Orleans, Aug. 30, 1863, of dysentery. 

Parker, Luther S., private, volunteer, three years. Company C, Twenty- 
sixth Regiment. 

Pearl, Gilman A., Company B, Fifty-ninth Regiment; enlisted as a 
private for three years, Dec. 19, 1863 ; mustered in Jan. 5, 1864. 

Pevey, Lyman E., enlisted March 4, 1865, for three years, Detachment 
of Ordnance, Arsenal, Watertown. 

Pool, Leonard H., enlisted Aug. 8, 1864, for three years, Reserve 
Veteran Corps. 

Raupuck, Harold A., three years, navy. 

Rich, Everett, was mustered in March 11, 1862, three years, navy. 

Robertson, William, private, three years, Fifteenth Battery. 

Robinson, John, two years, navy. 

RusMUSSEX, Christian, two years, navy. 

Shout, William, Company B, Sixth Regiment, nine months ; enlisted 



1865] SOLDIERS IN THE LATE JVAR. jg^ 

•^"S- 3^ 1S62, and was discharged at the expiration of his service, 
June 3, 1863. 

Stevens, Kimball A., private. Company B, Sixth Regiment ; enhsted 
for nine months, Aug. 31, 1862. 

Stickney, Henry, private, Company G, Thirty-third Regiment, mustered 
in Aug. II, 1862, and died at Fahnouth, Va., Jan. 20, 1863. 

Styles, John, enhsted Aug. 8, 1864, for three years. Third Regiment of 
Infantry. 

Taylor, George E., private, three years, Company A, Second Regiment ; 
he enhsted Oct. 14, 1861, and died at Frederick, Md., Feb. 8, 1862. 

Teagrean, John N., enlisted for three years in the Sixty-second Regi- 
ment. 

Welch, Patrick, vohinteer, three years. Company G, Forty-first Regi- 
ment. 

White, Lucius, volunteer, private, three years. Company D, Eleventh 
Regiment Regular Infantry ; wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, 
July 2, 1863, and died on the day following. 

WiLKiNS, Luther, private. Company D, Fifty-third Regiment, nine 
months ; enlisted Oct. 12, 1862 ; returned home with his regiment, 
and was discharged Sept. 2, 1863. 

WiLKiNS, Luther E , enlisted for nine months as a private, Company D, 
Fifty-third Regiment, Oct. 12, 1862. He was in the battle of Port 
Hudson, returned home with his regiment, and was discharged Sept. 
2, 1863. 

Total, 64. 

Among those belonging to the town who enlisted in other 
places were, — 

William W. CUmmings, First Minnesota Regiment. 

Hiram R. Kendall. 

Alfred G. Parkhurst, Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. 

Charles R. Swallow. 

Richard H. Knights. 

The town under two calls paid $3,100 for bounties. 



Iq5 history of DUNSTABLE. [1867 



CHAPTER XII. 

Dismissal of* the Rev. William C. Jackson. — Appropriations for 
Schools. — The Rev. Edward P. Kingshury ordained. — His Early 
Death. — The Rev. Charles Rockwell employed. — He is fol- 
lowed BY THE Rev. Franklin D. Austin. — The Nashua, Acton, and 
Boston Railroad opened. — Character of the People. — The Com- 
mittee CHOSEN FOR A Bi-CeNTENNIAL CELEBRATION. — PREPARATIONS 

FOR THE Same. — The Beauty of the Day. — The Procession. — The 
Oration. — The Dinner, Songs, and Speeches following. 

" They are not fond of great changes, and to mere innovations they are 
decidedly averse. Their first desire is to give their children a good 
education, and to maintain the literary and religious institutions of the 
commonwealth. They acknowledge the importance of useful employ- 
ment for all classes and ages, and are desirous that their children should 
acquire early habits of study and industry." Alden Bradfokd. 

" We boast not the olive, we want not the vine, 
For the orange and citron we do not repine ; 
We look at no climate with envious eyes, 
For what Nature refuses, our labor supplies." 

Silas P. Holbrook. 

J. C. Woodward was chosen town clerk in 1866, and the 
sum of ^525 was appropriated for the support of the five pub- 
lic schools. 

In 1867 Libni Parker, Freeman L. Robbins, and Thomas 
F. Cheney were chosen selectmen, and $700 were devoted to 
the support of the public schools. 

The Rev. William C. Jackson,* at his own request, was dis- 

* He was born in Eaton (now Madison), N. IL, Feb. 7, 1808 ; Dartmouth Col- 
lege, 1831 ; Andover, 1S35. He married, Sept. 9 of that year, Mrs. Mary A. 
Sawyer, of Westminster, and they sailed from Boston, Dec. 4, for the mission 
in Turkey. After spending a few months in Constantinople, they went to Trebi- 
zond on the Black Sea, where they continued to hibor until September, 1839, 
when they ojnnnenccd a station at Erzcroom. Here they remained until June, 
1845, when the severe illness of Mrs. Jackson necessitated their return to 



1869] ^^ ACCIDENT. 197 

missed from the pastorate of the church, Nov. 13, 1867, the 
cause assigned being want of adequate support, and the people 
were for a while destitute of a settled pastor. Mr. Jackson 
served the town faithfully, and one or more revivals of religion 
occurred under his ministry. He was long a faithful mission- 
ary in Asiatic Turkey, and was subsequently settled over the 
church in Lincoln, Mass. He has a fine musical taste and is 
the composer of the beautiful tune of " Lincoln," on the one 
hundred and forty-fourth page of the New Congregational 
Hynin and Tnne Book. He is now settled at Brentwood, N, H. 

The interest due the citizens of the town on money loaned 
for the war was $493.35. 

In the year following (1868), the sum of $700 was voted for 
schools, and of $400 for roads and bridges. James T. Burnap 
was chosen one of the school committee for three years. 

It was voted " to put that fish law in force." Benjamin 
French was moderator of the annual town meeting. 

George W. Woods, son of Isaac and Eliza Woods, and aged 
forty years, had his skull fractured by the fall of a tree, Dec. 
20, and died in consequence a few days afterwards. 

In 1869 Henry J, Tolles was the town clerk, and the town 
was enjoying great prosperity. It voted $800 for schools, and 
also not to abolish school districts, as recommended by the 
State Board of Education. 

Eri Dinwiddle Raymond, son of Liberty C. and Sarah 
(Spaulding) Raymond, of Dunstable, was accidentally drowned 
while bathing in the Merrimack River, at Lowell, on the 27th of 
June. He was seventeen years, four months, and six days old. 

The Rev. Edward P. Kingsbury, of Newton, and a graduate 
of Andover Theological Seminary, was ordained but not 
installed over the church on the 28th of November, the Rev. 
Eben B. Foster, d. d., of Lowell, preaching the sermon. 

Dexter Putn'km Proctor, son of Jasper Pope and Mary 

America. In April, 1847, Mr. Jackson was installed over the church in Lincoln, 
where he continued as pastor until October, 1858 He commenced his labors in 
Brentwood, N. H., in the month of June, 1870. His children arc Mary Rice, 
Edward Payson, Julia Sawyer, Charlotte E., Abbie Isabella, George W., and 
Florence Cloucrh. 



igS HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

♦ 

Proctor, died Jan. 16, in consequence of injuries received from 
a falling tree. He was forty-one years old. 

The number of inhabitants in 1870 was four hundred and 
seventy-one; of legal voters, one hundred and twenty-eight. 
Among the town officers this year, Henry J. Tolles was chosen 
town clerk, D. F. Rideaut, constable, and George P. Wright, 
the pound-keeper. The cost of clearing the roads of snow 
the preceding winter was $126.46. The sum of $800 was 
appropriated for schools, and it was voted " to clear the bury- 
ing-ground at Meeting-House Hill" of bushes. 

Mr. Kingsbury continued to supply the pulpit acceptably 
until March 12, 1871, when declining health compelled him 
to retire. He died two weeks afterwards at his home in Newton 
Centre, beloved and lamented by all who knew him. 

The Rev. Charles Rockwell, at a salary of $600 per annum 
and the use of the parsonage, supplied the pulpit from May 4, 
1871, to May I, 1873. 

The town gave in 1871 fifty gubernatorial votes for John 
Quincy Adams, and forty-four for William B. Washburn, who 
was elected. 

In 1872 Benjamin French, Esq., was 'chosen moderator of 
the annual meeting, and Libni Parker was appointed to meas- 
ure wood and bark, of which articles a considerable amount 
was yearly furnished for market. The sum of $800 was 
a[)i)lied to the support of the five public schools, and of $500 
for repairing the highways and bridges. 

The valuation of the town this year was $326,185.22. 

In January of 1873 Samuel S. Taylor and Jacob Parkhurst 
were chosen deacons, and the Rev. Franklin D. Austin, born 
in Becket, and educated at Union College and Auburn Theo- 
logical Seminary, was employed as a stated supply, July i, at 
the same salary that was paid to Mr. Rockwell. The number 
of members belonging to the church at the commencement of 
the year was sixty-five, of whom forty-five were females. 

The town officers for 1873 were P^reeman L. Robbins, 
moderator of the annual meeting ; Henry J. Tolles, town clerk ; 
Washington E. Blood, Ira B. Hall, and Benjamin P'rench, 
selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor ; Libni Parker, 



1873] INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT. iqq 

town treasurer ; Ira B. Hall, town constable ; Freeman L. Rob- 
bins, superintending school committee; and L. Herman Parker, 
collector of taxes. The town voted $2,000 to defray the 
annual expenses, $900 of which were for the public schools, 
and $500 for the repairing of highways and bridges. 

Lieut. Francis Fletcher, son of Thomas, grandson of Dea. 
Joseph Fletcher, and a valued citizen, died July 28, at the 
advanced age of eighty-five years. 

Miss Sarah E. Blood, sister of Washington E Blood, and 
aged thirty-seven years, was accidentally killed on the fourth 
day of August by a train of cars on the Worcester and Nashua 
Railroad. She had gone out to pick berries for the tea-table, 
and while on the track was unconscious of the approach of the 
train. 

The Nashua, Acton, and Boston Railroad, running by Flat 
Rock Hill, along the valley of Salmon Brook centrally through 
the town, and leaving it at Massapoag Pond, was opened for 
travel in June, 1873. The ceremony of breaking the ground 
for this road took place at Wall Hill in December, 1871, when 
speeches were made by the Hon. Levi Wallace, of Pepperell, 
James T. Burnap, first superintendent of the road, and others, 
after which the company partook of a collation provided by 
the ladies of Dunstable. The occasion was enlivened by 
salutes from a cannon, probably the first one ever heard near 
Massapoag Pond, and by music from the Dunstable Cornet 
Band. The depot is about one half of a mile west of Dunsta- 
ble Centre, and Mr. Thomas F, Cheney is the depot master. 
By this road the town is well accommodated ; since its con- 
struction, property has advanced in value and the activities of 
the people have been quickened. 

Although the people of Dunstable are noted for industry 
and sobriety, still, as in other New England towns, they 
now and then break up the monotony of every-day life by 
recreation and amusement, and I record with pleasure that 
these are of a character more intellectual and elevated than 
were those in which the people of the olden times engaged. 
A course of lyceum lectures is generally well sustained during 
the winter season, and the people, both old and young, spend 



200 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1873 



much more time than the preceding generation did in reading 
the magazines and daily journals. In the summer season, 
several families visit the sea-shore or the mountains for diver- 
sion ; and in the autumn, the agricultural fair, in place of the 
old militia muster, with its many demoralizing influences, 
engages the attention. From it, Dunstable has borne away 
many a handsome prize. For athletic sports or games of 
chance, the people have but little inclination ; the farm affords 
a sufficient amount of exercise for the body, and men who till 
the soil do not love to risk, in any kind of gambling, the money 
for which they work so hard. Music and flowers are con- 
siderably cultivated ; it seems, indeed, to be the constant aim 
of every parent to make the home attractive, the home circle 
good, and consequently happy. 

The spirit of republican simplicity, to a remarkable extent, 
prevails, and what is called family pride is, perhaps, less 
observable here than in any other town in the county. It is 
said that if a lady of Dunstable has a party, she invites her 
neighbors in the order in which they live, until her house is 




LIDNI PARKER'S HOUSE ANU HALL. 



full, esteeming one as worthy of her attention as another. 
The people, in general, own the estates on which they dwell. 



1873] 



BI-CENTENNIAL CELEB R A TION. 



201 



and had much rather take than give a mortgage. They seldom 
run into debt, and prefer a large barn to a gaudily furnished 
parlor. There is but little foreign element, and but one pauper 
in town. The public meetings are generally held in a con- 
venient hall in the possession of Mr. Libni Parker, and built 
by Mr. Jephtha Cummings. Beneath it are the post-office and 
the only store in town, both of which are in charge of Mr. 
L. Herman Parker, who, with his father, Mr. Libni Parker, 
occupies the house represented on the opposite page. 

As 1873 was the two hundredth year from the original 
settlement or incorporation of the town, it was voted in a legal 
meeting of the citizens, held in March, to appropriate $500 for 
a bi-centennial celebration, to be observed on Wednesday, the 
seventeenth day of September following. Josiah C. Proctor, 
Esq., Dexter Butterfield, James M. Swallow, Jonas Spaulding, 
and John A. Parkhurst were chosen a committee to make ar- 
rangements. To this committee were added William N. Kemp, 
Washington E. Blood, Ira B. Hall, Benjamin French, Esq., 
and George W. Fletcher. This committee received a present, 




HOMESTEAD OV BENJAMIN FKliNCH, ESQ. 



unsolicited, of $50 from Dexter Roby, of Boston, 1^50 from 
A. N. Swallow, of Charlestown, and $20 from Hiram Kemp, 



202 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [iSjS 

of Boston, all sons of Dunstable, to aid in defraying the 
expenses of the celebration. Benjamin French, Esq., was 
appointed chairman of the Committee of Arrangements. 

Printed letters of invitation, as given below, were sent out 
to those specially interested in the welfare of the town : — 

BI-CENTENARY OF DUNSTABLE. 
1673-1873. 

Dunstable, Mass., Aug. 28, 1S73. 
Rev. Elias Nason : 

Dear Sir, — On the seventeenth of September next this town will cele- 
brate the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the town. 
We most cordially invite you to be present on the occasion. 
Yours respectfully, 

Benjamin French, 

Chairman of Committee. 

As the time for the anniversary* approached, the town 
became thoroughly alive in making preparations for the 
reception of its sons and daughters from abroad, and for the 
festivities of the occasion. Josiah C. Proctor, Esq., was 
appointed president of the day, together with Isaac O. Taylor 
and Jonas C. Kendall, as vice-presidents ; Benjamin French, 
chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, Dexter Butter- 

*The following is a copy of the printed programme for the occasion : — 

BI-CENTENNIAL OF DUNSTABLE. 

Wednesday, Sept. 17th, '73. 

1673-1873. 

PROGRAMME. 

The Procession will forin at the Depot at ten o'clock A. Af., and march to the Cotnmon. 

Exercises on the CSmmon. 

Reading of Scripture and Prayer, by Rev. Mr. Austin. 
Music by the IJand. 
Song of Welcome. 

4. Oration, by Geo. B. Loring. 

5. Singing by the Clark Family (New Ipswich). 

6. Original Song, composed by Mrs. Maria A. Whitcomb. 

7. Music by the Bands. 

Dinner at i o'clock P. M., in tlie Tent. 

8. Voluntary Toasts, Speeches, Poems, Singing, and Music by the Bands. 

9. Parting Hymn, composed by Mrs. Charles Rockwell. 



iSy-"] WELCOME 7 THE GROUNDS. 203 

field, chief marshal, together with James A. Davis and 
Andrew J. Woodward, assistants. Dr. George B. Loring 
was invited to deliver the oration, and Yale's mammoth tent, 
with C. E. Reed, of Boston, as caterer, was engaged for the 
occasion. Nothing was omitted on the part of the gentlemen 
and ladies of Dunstable to make the celebration a success. 

The 17th of September opened splendidly, and at ten 
o'clock a procession was formed at the railroad station, which 
proceeded to the centre of the town in the following order: — 

Dexter Butterfield, marshal of the day, and aids, with the 
Dunstable Cornet Band ; two four-horse barouches, one con- 
taining Gov. William B. Washburn, the Hon. George S. Bout- 
well, the Hon. George B. Loring, with Josiah C. Proctor, Esq., 
president of the day ; the other barouche containing the Hon. 
E. Rockwood Hoar, of Concord. Gen. Israel Hunt, of Nashua, 
together with Messrs. Isaac O. Taylor and Jonas C. Kendall, 
vice-presidents of the day. Then came in order, Capt. Chris- 
topher Roby's company of cavalry with seventy sabres, fol- 
lowed by the Pepperell Engine Company, No. i, thirty-three 
men, with the Pepperell Cornet Band, and citizens in carriages 
and on foot. 

A beautiful stand for the speakers had been erected on the 
south side of the broad Common, and a large number of con- 
venient seats provided. Appropriate mottoes covered the 
sides of the platform, and above it were seen the cordial 
words, "Welcome Home." The dates 1673-1873, in wreaths 
of flowers, ornamented the speaker's desk. Flags were flying 
in every direction, and salutes from a piece of artillery 
announced the arrival of the long procession at the scene of 
the celebration. Never before had old Dunstable Common 
been so beautifully decorated, or been visited by such a throng 
of people. It is estimated that as many as 3,000 were present. 

The services were opened by the reading of selections from 
the Scriptures, and a prayer by the Rev. Franklin D. Austin. 
These were followed by spirited music from the Dunstable 
Cornet Band, and an original song of welcome, beautifully 
sung by the Clark family of New Ipswich. Josiah C. Proctor, 
Esq., then, in a few well-chosen words, extended a cordial wel- 



204 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

come to the vast assemblage, and read the resolution of the 
town in respect to the celebration. He then introduced the 
Hon. George B. Loring, as the orator of the occasion. This 
gentleman, rising, delivered an historical address in his usual 
happy and effective manner, commanding for an hour and a 
half the earnest attention of the audience. At the conclusion 
of the oration, the Clark family sang effectively " The Star 
Spangled Banner." This was followed by an original song, 
composed by Mrs. Maria A. Whitcomb, and by enlivening 
music from the Dunstable and Pepperell cornet bands. 

SONG BY MRS. M. A. WHITCOMB. 

Sung by the Dunstable Cornet Band. 

Tune, " Yankee Doodle." 

This town was all a forest deep, 

Two hundred years ago, sir ; 
The vales were low, the hills were steep, 

And streamlets wandered through, sir. 

CJionts : Yankee doodle, this the place, 
Yankee doodle dandy ; 
We like the good, old-fashioned days. 
The people were so handy. 

A few brave men, a pilgrim band. 

Sought this far-off location ; 
They saw it was a goodly land. 

And here they fixed their station. 

Chorus : 

From time to time the settlers came, 

And built as they were able ; 
At length the town must have a name, 

And so t'was called Dunstable. 

C/iorus : 

No draught from China's sultry land 

Was seen at morn or e'en, sir ; 
The " black cow " gave a beverage bland, 

Few drank black tea or green, sir. 

Chorus ; 



1873] POEM BY MRS. ROCKWELL. 205 

In homespun were the people dressed, 

Of woollen, tow, or linen, 
Their Sunday suits, which were their best, 

Were nicely made by women. 

Chorus : 

The girls could wash and brew and bake. 

And also were good spinners ; 
The maids could ply the .hoe and rake. 

While matrons cooked the dinners. 

Chorus: Yankee doodle, this the place, 
Yankee doodle dandy ; 
We like the good, old-fashioned days, 
The people were so handy. 

After the services were finished at the rostrum, and the 
people had spent some time in congratulations and in reme- 
niscences of the olden times, they repaired to the mammoth 
tent erected on the spacious lawn south of the Common to par- 
take, as many as could, of the banquet prepared by Mr. Reed. 
The Rev. Mr. M. Smith, of Tyngsborough, invoked the divine 
blessing, and about an hour was spent in partaking of the 
bountiful repast. When this was finished, and the Pepperell 
Band had performed an inspiring piece of music, the president 
of the day introduced felicitously Mr. O. C. Moore, as the 
toast-master of the anniversary. Having made a few remarks, 
he announced as the first toast : " Old Dunstable ! she divided 
her estate among ten sons, and to-day she calls them home and 
bids them welcome." The response was in the form of the 
following original poem, written by Mrs. Mary Rockwell, and 
read by Mr. James T. Burnap : — 

DUNSTABLE. 

My childhood's home ! what music in the sound. 

Dear to each heart, wherever man is found ! 

By every nation, every clime and tongue, 

In sweetest praise their dwelling-place is sung. 

Go to the Indian in the western wild. 

Ask him where Nature has most kindly smiled ; 

He '11 point you to his dark old forest home, 

And to his cheerless wigwam bid you come. 

Go to the regions of the frozen zone. 



2o6 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

Where naught but stinted slirubs and moss are grown, 

Ask the poor native what delights his eye ; 

He '11 point you to his hut of snow hard by. 

Enlightened man no pleasure here can find, 

And blesses God that He has not designed 

To cast his lot in regions cold and drear, 

Removed from all he holds on earth so dear. 

Across the ocean, in the eastern world, 

Where freedom's banner ne'er has been unfurled. 

Where superstition rules with tyrant sway, 

And man, degraded, wears his life away, 

Yet even here the heart clings to one place, — 

Here is his home, here dwells his kindred race. 

To nations proud in wealth and culture turn ; 

From their attachments, too, we plainly learn 

How strong, how deep, the feeling of the heart 

For one dear spot of this great earth, small part, 

And yet within that little space, close curled, 

Lies love's rich treasure, making it a world. 

And thus, fair Dunstable, thy children come 

To celebrate the birthday of their home. 

Two hundred years ! We '11 bridge across time's space, 

And turn thought backward on its swiftest race, 

Call back the forms and faces that were here, — 

In mental vision they will reappear. 

Show us the regions that around them lay 

Rude and unfilled, two centuries to-day. 

Then brute creation, tenants of the wood, 

Untamed and fierce, were prowling for their food ; 

And savage man, more to be feared than they, 

Would lie in ambush to make man his prey, 

Lurk round the dwellings, slyly watch and wait 

Till on the pale face he could wreak his hate ; 

With torch to burn and tomahawk to destroy, 

Rending the air with wild, mad whoops of joy. 

On scenes like these we will but briefly dwell. 

Truths stern and sad the historic page must tell. 

We use the past to contrast shade with light, 

And make the present look more clearly bright. 

Fair Dunstable ! sometimes they call thee old : 
Thy youthful days are not yet fully told ; 
The peaceful tenor of thy even way 
Has left no furrows time and age display. 



jS73] form by MRS. ROCKWELL. 207 

Thy fields are fair, thy woods are bright and green, 
Thy lakes and streams are dressed in silvery sheen, 
On thy smooth brow is written early life, 
Untrodden yet the paths of vice and strife. 
But changes soon will come thy peace to mar ; 
E'en now is heard the rattling railroad car 
Along thy wood where quiet reigned around, 
And the lone night-bird's song the loudest sound, 
Till the last year of two long centuries past 
Proclaimed, by engine, " men were going fast." 
Business and hurry bring on middle age. 
They 're foes of youth, a war they quickly wage. 
Turn peaceful streams from their calm, gentle course, 
Restrain their waters for propelling force. 
The hills are brought on level with the plain ; 
And plains made hills to answer hope of gain. 
If such of sister towns has been the fate. 
Thy turn may come, though it be rather late, 
When on the morning breeze the factory bell 
Shall to the sleeper hours of labor tell. 
When whizzing cars on every side shall go. 
And prove this place is neither slack nor slow. 
We '11 not attempt to use prophetic ken. 
We know what has been and may be again ! 

Fair Dunstable ! a tribute we would pay 

Thy worthy children, long since passed away ! 

Of the first century history contains 

A warlike record, full of griefs and pains. 

Hearts brave and noble were compelled to yield. 

And for a season leave the foe the field. 

No doubt that race were men of sterling worth, 

Beloved, respected, while they dwelt on earth. 

But of the century now just passed away, 

More of thy children we can know, and say : 

Some have been worthy tillers of the soil, 

Substantial men, rewarded by their toil ; 

Some in mechanic arts have spent their days, 

Their works declare them men deserving praise ; 

And some have sought a livelihood by trade, 

Have bought and sold, and thus their fortunes made ; 

Others preferred in learning's paths to go. 

In three professions Dunstable can show 

Men who have made their mark and won renown, 

In other places than their native town. 



2c8 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. ['8/3 

But time forbids to pass each in review, — 

One name we 'II mention of the noted few, 

A name this place may well be proud to own. 

Virtues like Amos Kendall's wide are known ! 

Called by his country to high posts of trust, 

Honored and honest, numbered with the just ; 

His friends and relatives are with us here, 

And all who knew him hold his memory dear. 

An aged tuof/ten lives, still pleased to tell, 

She made him coats and pants, — he liked them well. 

In politics this town has borne its part. 

Both parties know the tricks of party art ; 

And to the statesmen who are here to-day, 

We pay due honor, — better than "back pay" ! 

Fair Dunstable ! thy sons have had their praise. 

And shall thy daughters share not in these lays ? 

To " woman's rights " they ne'er have laid their claim, 

To be right women is their highest aim. 

Act well each part within their sphere of life, 

A faithful mother and devoted wife. 

And now, fair Dunstable, our work is done ! 

Another century has for thee begun ! 

Throughout thy realms, may peace and temperance reign. 

Increase each virtue and each vice restrain ! 

And when life's changes all with us are o'er, 

Safe may we meet upon that heavenly shore 

Where centuries are uncounted and unknown. 

And joys are endless round the Eternal Throne. 

The second toast, " The President of the United States," 
was responded to by the Dunstable Band playing " America." 
The third toast was, " Massachusetts, — the earliest and fore- 
most in the cause of civil and religious liberty. The lapse of 
two hundred years has added lustre to her renown, force to her 
example, and prominence to her high place in history. All 
honor to the governor ! and the governed of the old Common- 
wealth ! " 

Gov. Washburn rose and responded happily to this sen- 
timent, and in the course of his remarks said, " The influ- 
ence of old Dunstable upon those that were born here has 
caused them joyfully to return, and in the celebration demon- 



1873] ADDRESS OF THE HON. G. S. BOUTIVELL. 209 

Strata their full appreciation of the benefits received by them 
from the place of their birth." 

The fourth toast, " Our Representative in Congress, — the 
eminent jurist, the practical statesman, the honest politician : 
old Dunstable can trust him, and he will honor her," received 
a pleasant response from Hon. E. Rockwood Hoar, M. C, who 
said : — 

" The founders of old Dunstable, with all the hardships of pitiless 
winter, merciless savages, poverty, want, and disease, still had some recom- 
pense, as they had no member of Congress. They worried over temporal 
cases, predestination, and free-will, but had no cause to worry over back 
pay and Credit Mobilier. An occasion more touching, delightful, and 
suited to the beautiful day, could not have been devised than the celebration. 
The town is the smallest of the county of Middlesex, and to-day it has 
seemed like the old mother sitting in advanced age by her hearth-stone, 
her family reduced in numbers by its contributions to other neighborhoods 
and places, her daughters changing their names as they form new alliances, 
but welcoming to the old homestead and to the thanksgiving table her 
numerous progeny." 

" The ideas of free education were always cherished in Dunstable, and 
will always be cherished as long as the great and undying principles of 
justice and truth shall continue." 

The fifth toast, " New Hampshire : bleak are her hills in 
winter, and warm are the hearts of her sons all the year round," 
received a brief response from the Rev. Mr. Philbrook. 

The Hon. Levi Wallace responded to the sixth toast, " Our 
railroad, — the tie that binds two cities that Act-on as one." 

The seventh toast, " New England : her townships were the 
nurseries of Republican institutions ; to-day they are the 
model democracies of the world," called up the Hon. George 
S. Boutwell, who said : — 

" There were three points in the history of New England which he 
never liked to pass, when New England is concerned, namely, the muni- 
cipal system, the public-school system, and the ' religious tolerance of 
the forefathers.' It may be said of the Puritans that they recognized the 
right of government to set up a church, in which all should worship and 
should pay toward its support ; but they were willing to have any church 
established not interfering with that church, and thus they should be ex- 
cused from intolerance. The public-school system is due entirely to the 
Puritan Protestantism which prevailed in Massachusetts long ago. Its 
14 



2IO HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [iS/S 

first object was to train up youth to be able to examine and judge of the 
Scriptures for themselves. He deemed it a loss to the municipal system 
that the towns, as towns, are not represented in the General Court. 

" The larger cities and municipalities are absorbing and corrupt. They 
are to be saved, if at all, by large legislative bodies. The civil govern- 
ment should be in the hands of those who are well paid. The assembly 
should be large, and the cost would, of course, be great ; but we must pay 
for government. He desired to see the municipalities strengthened and 
their pride encouraged. One means of connecting these celebrations will 
be by a celebration every half-century." 

Gen. Israel Hunt responded to the eighth toast, which was, 
" The City of Nashua." 

The ninth toast was, "The Orator of the Day : by the abihty, 
research, and eloquence which he has displayed to-day, he has 
proved himself worthy to be a son of old Dunstable, and we 
adopt him." 

Mr. Loring responded in his usual happy manner, and the 
president of the day then announced that, owing to the lateness 
of the hour, no more toasts would be offered. 

The Clark family then sang an original parting song, com- 
posed by Mrs. Mary Rockwell. 

CLOSING SONG, BY MRS. MARY ROCKWELL. 
A ir, — " Days of Absencb." 

When with joy our hearts are beating. 

Why must Time speed on his way, 
Bring to end our happy meeting. 

Close the pleasures of the day ? 
Here we 'd love to tarry longer, 

Live again the happy hours ; 
Bind our friendships firmer, stronger, 

While our pathway 's strewn with flowers. 

But life's scenes are ever changing, 

Clouds and sunshine come and go ; 
Earthly joys are prone to ranging, 

Few the gifts their hands bestow. 
But for these bright hours of gladness 

That have now so swiftly flown, 
We would banish thoughts of sadness, 

Make them evermore our own ; 



1873] CLOSE OF THE CELEBRATION. 2II 

Bid our friends a hearty farewell, 

Give our wishes warm and kind, 
But we '11 not attempt to foretell 

What another century '11 find. 
Ere three hundred years are ended, 

We shall sleep all in the tomb. 
May our lives with Christ be blended. 

Find through Him a heavenly home I 

At the conclusion of the singing a salute was fired, and the 
people, with many felicitations on the serenity of the day, the 
excellence of the speaking, the music, and the repast, bade 
each other good by, and retired to their several homes, well 
satisfied that old Dunstable had honorably and successfully 
observed the two hundredth anniversary of her incorporation.* 

* Fine stereoscopic views of the Common, the decorations, the concourse of 
people, and the dinner-table were taken during the celebration, which serve to 
recall vividly the varied and brilliant scenes of the day. 



212 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Representatives to the General Court. — Colonels. — Captains. — 
Deacons. — Physicians. — College Graduates. — Teachers — Voters 
IN 1873. 

" Proo-ress is the motto of the age. Let this progress not be confined 
to discovery, invention, science, and art. Let it be seen also in morals, 
in the love of man for man." Amos Kendall. 

" Knowledge is thine armor bright, 
Liberty, thy beacon-light, 
God himself, thy shield of might : 

Bow to Him alone." Lydia H. Sigourney. 

REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT FROM DUNSTABLE. 

rJoHN Waldo. 
1689. \ Cornelius Waldo. 

( Robert Parris. 
Jonathan Tyng. 

[Thomas Henchman. 
1741. John Tyng. 
1775- Joel Parkhurst. 

1777. Ebenezer Bancroft. 

1778. John Tyng. 
1780. John Tyng. 

1783. John Tyng. 

1784. Joseph Danforth. 
1801. John Pitts. 

1805. Robert Brinley. 

1806. Isaac Wright. 

1807. Isaac Wright. 

1808. Matthew Scribner. 

1809. Dr. MiCAH Eldredge. 

1810. Rev. Joshua Heywood. 

1811. Dr. MiCAH Eldredge. 

1812. Dr. MiCAH Eldredge. 
1823. Capt. JosiAH Cummings. 
1826. JosiAH Cummings, Jr. 

1840. Henry Parkhurst. . , 

1841. Peter Kendall. 



1693. 5 J 



i873] 



VIEW OF THE VILLAGE. 



213 




214 H^S'^ORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

1842. Henry Parkhurst. 

1843. Henry Parkhurst. 

1850. Ira Hall. 

1851. Ira Hall. 

1852. Benjamin French. 
1859. Alpheus Swallow. 
1862. Isaac O. Taylor. 
1865. George W. Fletcher. 
1870. James T. Burnap. 

Allen Cummings was a member of the State Senate in 1853, 
and the same year Isaac Kendall represented the town 
in the Convention for the revision of the Constitution of 
the State. 

The following Dunstable men have held a colonel's com- 
mission : — 

Jonathan Tyng. 

Eleazer Tyng. 

William Tyng. 

Zaccheus Lovewell, b. July 22, 1701 ; d. April 12, 1772. 

Joseph Blanchard, b. Feb. 11, 1704; d. April 7, 1758. 

Ebenezer Bancroft, b. 1737 ; d. 1827. 

Frederic Blodgett, d. Oct. 27, 1837, aged 62 years. 

Levi P. Wright. 

The following Dunstable men have been commissioned as 
captains : — 

Joseph Blanchard. 

Jonathan Butterfield. 

Joseph Butterfield. 

Benjamin Butterfield, d. 1745. 

Leonard Butterfield, d. Nov. 17, 1800. 

Reuben Butterfield, b. Oct. 1727 ; d. Feb. 22, 1816. 

Joel Cummings. 

John Cummings, d. Aug. 15, 1770, aged seventy-four j^ears. 

JosiAH Cummings. 

Oliver Cummings, d. Aug. 15, 18 10, aged eighty-three years. 

Joseph Danforth, b. 1754; d. 1855. 

Henry Farwell. 

Jonathan Flf.tchek, d. March 28, 181 3, aged seventy-two years, 

Mark Fletcher. 

Nathaniel Fletcher. 

Nathaniel W. Gilson. 

Ira Hall. 



1873] PHYSICIANS OF DUNSTABLE. 21 5 

Nathaniel Holden. He lived on the margin of Howard's Brook and 

bore the name of " Peacemaker." 
Abel Johnson. 
Jesse Johnson. 

Jonas Kendall, commissioned April 1808; discharged Feb. 9, 181 1. 
John Lovewell, killed at Pequawket. 

Peter Powers, b. in Littleton, and d. in Hollis, N. H., 1757. 
Caleb Read. 

Samuel Stevens. He was from Chelmsford, and d. Dec. 10, 1805. 
Abraham Swallow, commissioned May 3, 1803, by Caleb Strong. 
Amaziah Swallow. 

Christopher Roby, now of West Chelmsford. 
Jephtha Stevens. 

a list of the deacons of the church in DUNSTABLE. 

Ebenezer Sherwin, elected 1757. 

Samuel Taylor, 1757, son of Abraham Taylor, and was born Oct. i, 

1708, and died Oct. 23, 1792, aged eighty-five. 
Joseph Fletcher, 1759, d. July 17, 1784. 

Zebedee Kendall, 1789 ; d. Aug. 12, 1839, aged eighty-four years. 
Joel Parkhurst, 1794. 
Isaac Taylor, 1801. 
Samuel Stevens, 1801. 
James Taylor, 1814. 

Micah Eldredge, 1819 ; d. 1849, "^g^^ seventy-three years. 
Mark Fletcher, 1832 ; d. Aug. 4, 1851. 
Joseph Swallow, 1832. 
Isaac Taylor, Jr., 1834. 
Thomas Parker, 1845. 
Chiles Kendall, 1845. He was born Dec. 29, 1798, and is descended 

through Jacob^ and Jonas^ from Johni Kendall, who came from 

Woburn about 1726. He married Susannah, daughter of Dea. James 

Taylor, May 3, 1827. ' 

physicians of DUNSTABLE. 

Dr. Nathan Cutler practised in town before the Revo- 
lution, and acted as a surgeon in the war. He lived on the 
river road near Spit or Cutler's Brook, a little north of the 
State line. 

Dr. Ebenezer Starr came to Dunstable from Dedham, 
soon after the Revolution, and lived on a Kendall Place in the 
northerly part of the town. He was highly esteemed as a 
physician and as a man. He died Sept. 7, 1798, aged fifty- 
two years. 



2 1 6 HISTOR V OF DUNSTABLE. [ 1 873 

Dr. MiCAH Eldredge practised long in Dunstable ; living 
near Salmon Brook, on the road from the Centre to HoUis, 
N. H. He married Sally Buttrick of Concord, and had a 
family of twelve children, several of whom received a liberal 
education. He served the town in various capacities. At 
one period he taught a public school ; he was a deacon of the 
church, and twice elected representative to the General Court. 
He received the degree of M. D. from Dartmouth College in 
1841, and soon afterwards removed to Nashua, N. H., where 
he died in 1849, at the age of seventy-three years. His son, 
Hezekiah Eldredge, who was of the Medical Department of 
Brown University in 1825, succeeded him in the practice of 
medicine at Dunstable. 

Dr. Miles Spaulding practised for some time in town 
and resided in the house now occupied by Mr. Harvey Wood- 
ward, near the Centre. He now lives in Groton. He was 
admitted to the church by letter Sept, 5, 1847, ^^^d dismissed 
to the church in Groton, Oct. 29, 185 1. 

Dr. Adonijah W. Howe settled here about the year 1852, 
and practised in town several years. He married Miss Martha 
D. Butterfield, and occupied the old tavern house, built by 
Ebenezcr Kendall, and noted as one of the rallying-points 
during the Revolution. He now resides in Westford. The 
town has at present no resident physician, but employs, for 
the most part. Dr. Charles Dutton, a skilful practitioner of 
Tyngsborough. 

LIST OF college GRADUATES. 

John Tyng, H. C. i69i,son of Jonathan and Sarah (Usher) 
Tyng. 

Eleazer Tyng, brother of the above, b. in 1690; H. C. 
1712. 

Habijah Savage Weld, H. C. 1723 He was the son of 
the Rev. Thomas Weld, and was born in Dunstable, July 2, 
1702. He was ordained at Attleborough, Oct. 1727, where he 
continued in the ministry fifty-five years. He died suddenly 
May 14, 1782. 

Peter Powers, H. C. I754,d. 1800, aged seventy-two years. 



1873] COLLEGE GRADUATES. 21/ 

JosiAH Goodhue. H. C. 1755. 

John Farwell, H. C. 1808, a lawyer. 

Isaac Fletcher, Dart Coll. 1808, M. C. 

Amos Kendall, " 181 1. 

JosiAH Danforth, " 181 1. 

Charles Butterfield, H. C. 1820. 

Frederick Augustus Eldredge, Dart. Coll. 1832. 

Erasmus Darwin Eldredge, Dart. Coll. 1829. 

Samuel Mark Fletcher, Am. Coll. 1846. Born March i, 
1822, and married Sally Kendall Taylor in November, 1849. 
He was a son of Capt. Mark, grandson of Phineas and great- 
grandson of Dea. Joseph Fletcher, the first settler of the name in 
Dunstable. He studied medicine in Philadelphia and practised 
two years in Westerly, R. I. He was assistant surgeon in the 
war of the Rebellion ; he then practised medicine in Denver 
City and Chicago, where he died Oct. 3, 1875. His wife died 
April 20, 1867. Their son, Alfred M., was born Sept. 13, 1850* 

Samuel Howe Tolman, Dart. Coll. 1848. 

Joseph Willard Keyes, the youngest son of Joel and 
Phoebe (Cutter) Keyes, was born in Dunstable, Sept. 30, 
1837, and graduated from the Theological Department of 
St. Lawrence University, Canton, N. Y., 1864. He was 
first settled over the Universalist Church in Minneapolis, 
Minn., then over one at Arlington, Mass., and afterwards 
over that in Auburn, N. Y. He is an earnest and effective 
speaker. Under his ministrations many have been led to seek 
for a higher life. 

Asa Danforth studied medicine with Dr. Thomas of 
Tyngsborough, and settled in Norway, Me. 

Erasmus Darwin Eldredge, son of Dr. Micah and Sally 
(Buttrick) Eldredge, was born in Dunstable, March 10, 1804. 
He was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1829, and was 
principal of the Pepperell Academy from June 10, 1834, until 
November, 1837. He was ordained pastor of the Congrega- 
tional Church in Hampton, N. H., April 4, 1838. From this 
pastorate he was dismissed at his own request. May 7, i84^J 

* See Fletcher Genealogy, p. 103., 



2i8 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

and on the 12th of June following he was installed pastor of 
the church in Salisbury, where he continued until Nov. i, 
1854, when he was compelled by ill health to relinquish the 
pastorate. " The labors of Mr. Eldredge," says the Rev. B. F. 
Foster, in The New Hampshire Churches, p. 413, "were very # 
useful to the church and acceptable to the people generally, 
and it was with much regret that they yielded to his request 
to discontinue his connection with them." 

Mr. Eldredge and his wife subsequently taught a young 
ladies' institute at Monticello, and then at Milledgeville, Ga. 
He was installed at Alton, N. H., Jan. 24, 1861, and is now 
pastor of a church in Kensington, N. H. He married, June 
30, 1864, Miss Isabella Hill, and is highly esteemed, both as a 
pastor and as a citizen. 

The Hon. Isaac Fletcher, son of Joseph and Molly (Cum- 
mings) Fletcher, and grandson of Dea. Joseph Fletcher, was 
born in Joint Grass, in the northwesterly part of Dunstable, 
Nov. 22, 1784; was graduated with honor at Dartmouth Col- 
lege, in the class of 1808, and taught for some time in the 
academy at Chesterfield, N. H. He afterwards studied law 
with Messrs. Prescott & Dunbar, at Keene, N. H. In 18 ri he 
removed to Lyndon, Vt., where he soon came into an exten- 
sive practice. He was eight years State attorney for Cale- 
donia County, four years a representative of Lyndon in the 
State Legislature, and twice elected representative to Con- 
gress, serving in that office from 1837 to 1841. He was also, 
at one time, military aid on the staff of Richard Skinner, 
governor of Vermont, and for many years adjutant and 
inspector-general of the militia of the State. He was prompt, 
energetic, and self-reliant, and, as it were, the maker of his 
own fortune. He married Miss Abigail Stone in 1 813, by 
whom he had one child. Col. Charles B. Fletcher, who died 
sine prole, Aug. 12, 185 1. The Hon. Isaac Fletcher died 
greatly respected, Oct. 19, 1842.* 

In a letter to his son, Charles B. Fletcher, the Hon. Isaac 
Fletcher said : " From my earliest recollection, my constitution 

* See the Fletcher Genealogy, p. 79. See, also, Life of the Hon. Isaac Fletcher, 
by Isaac F. Redfield, 1843. 



1873] ^-^^ ^^0^- ISAAC FLETCHER. 219 

and health have been feeble, and have continued so to the 
present time, but yet able to endure much application, labor, 
and fatigue. One rule of my father's economy was that all the 
money spent by the children must be earned by themselves. 
By the greatest industry in raising potatoes and tobacco, I 
possessed myself of money enough to buy Pike's large Arith- 
metic, and commenced the study of it during the leisure even- 
ings I could spare. By dint of perseverance, I mastered every 
rule, and could solve any problem in the whole book. This 
laid the foundation for mathematical studies, which have been 
of use to me through life. I have ever devoted myself, when 
opportunity would allow, with more pleasure to the study of 
that science than any other." He also said: "In 1803 my 
father came to a resolution to suffer me to acquire a liberal 
education. He informed me that all he could do for me was 
to give me my time, and if I thought, by industry and economy, 
I could succeed in the attempt, I might make the experiment, 
but should I fail, there would be always a seat at his table and 
food enough and work enough for me to do on his farm. Thus 
encouraged and supported by my father, I collected all my 
movable effects, consisting of clothes and a few books, and 
left home with a fixed and determined resolution to tax my 
genius and industry to the utmost to acquire an education. 
With budget in hand I took my departure for Groton to pre- 
pare for college. At this time I was possessed of a yoke of 
oxen, a few sheep, and other property, in all to the amount of 
about $150, which I converted into cash and funded in order 
to draw upon as necessity might require. I did not feel myself 
able to take board near the academy, but at the distance of a 
mile and a half, where I could get it cheaper than in the vil- 
lage. I commenced fitting for college in September, 1803, and 
entered the Freshman class in Dartmouth College in 1804. I 
may as well say, once for all, my feelings suffered much, for 
my means were scanty and my dress and style humble." Gen. 
Fletcher continued his classical studies through life, and to 
them added the study of the French language and literature. 
Of him his biographer says : " He was an indulgent parent, a 
kind-hearted friend, charitable to all, unwilling to offend or 



220 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

pain any one, hospitable and generous, and accomplished more 
for good and less for evil, I think, than most others." He was 
an honor to the town that gave him birth, to the State of his 
adoption, and to humanity. 

Amos Kendall, son of Dea. Zebedee and Molly (Dakin) 
Kendall,* was born in the northerly part of Dunstable, near 
Salmon Brook, on Sunday, Aug. 16, 1787, and was baptized 
by the Rev. Daniel Emerson, of Hollis, N. H., on the first day 
of November following. He spent his boyhood in hard work 
on his father's farm, and in attending school during the winter 
season. He evinced, in boyhood, a love of books, and employed 
many of his leisure hours in reading. His sobriety gained for 
him the title of deacon. He was fitted for college, partly at 
the academy in New Ipswich, N, H,, and partly in that of 
Groton, under the tuition of Caleb Butler, historian of that 
town. He was graduated, taking the highest honor of his 
class, at Dartmouth College, in 181 1. During his college 
course he taught school in Dunstable. Having studied law 
in the office of William M. Richardson, Esq., of Groton, he 
removed, in the spring of 18 14, to Kentucky, where he was for 
some time employed as a tutor in the family of Henry Clay, 
at Ashland. To his intercourse with this distinguished states- 
man he was largely indebted for his early political bias and 
aspiration. On leaving the family of Mr. Clay, he commenced 
the practice of law, and subsequently became the editor of a 
Democratic journal, called the Argus, published at Frankfort^ 
in Kentucky. He advocated the election of Gen. Andrew 
Jackson to the Presidency, and was, by him, appointed, in 
1829, fourth auditor of the treasury. From 1835 ^0 1840 he 
held the office of postmaster-general. He succeeded in intro- 
ducing many reforms into this department, and also in freeing 
it from debt. He assumed, in 1845, the entire management 



* Francis Kendall^ came from England to Woburn about 1640, and had four 
sons, Francis, Thomas, Ralph, and Jacob-, the last of whom, born in 1686, had 
nine sons, of whom John-', Ebenezer, and Abraham settled in what is now Dun- 
stable, Mass., about 1726. The sons of John'' were John*, Jacob, Temple, 
Edward, and Zebedee. John* had two sons, John and Zebedee^ who was the 
father of Amos Kendall^. 



1873] AMOS KENDALL. 221 

of the interest of Prof. Samuel F. Morse in the magnetic tele- 
graph, and was the founder and first president of the Deaf and 
Dumb Asylum at Washington. He married for his first wife, 
Oct. I, 18 18, Miss Mary B. Woolfolk, by whom he had four 
children ; and for his second wife, in 1826, Miss Jane Kyle, by 
whom he had ten children. She died at Washington in June, 
1864. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on him, in 1849, 
by Dartmouth College. He was a friend of the common-school 
system and a liberal benefactor. To the Calvary Baptist 
Church at Washington, which he was led to join from hearing 
a sermon by the Rev. A. B. Earle on, " Almost thou per- 
suadest me to be a Christian," delivered March 23, 1865, and 
of which he was an active member, he gave in all $115,000. 
He also contributed about $20,000 to the Deaf and Dumb 
Asylum, $6,000 to found a scholarship in Columbia College, 
and about $25,000 in aid of two mission schools, one of which 
is called Kendall's Chapel. In the autumn of 1862 he went 
to live -at "Kendall Green," in Taunton, N. J., and in 1866 
made a long visit to Europe and the Holy Land. He died at 
Washington, on the twelfth day of November, 1869, leaving in 
manuscript an Autobiography, which his son-in-law has since 
published in a handsome volume of seven hundred pages, 

Mr. Kendall was a vigorous writer, and faithfully served the 
administration of whose cabinet he was a member so influ- 
ential as to be called the President's " right-hand" man. He 
was a prominent actor on the political arena for almost a third 
of a century ; he was a public benefactor and a devout Christian. 
On the morning of his death he asked to see the sun rise, and 
then exclaiming, " How beautiful, how beautiful ! " he soon 
closed his eyes, and died in peace. 

At his funeral the Rev. Dr. Sunderland said, " He was a 
man of great modesty of disposition. He sought no display, 
and if he had a fault it was that he was altogether too retiring 
and diffident. He was an honest man, purely and exactly a 
faithful man. Honest and faithful to his fellow-men, he was no 
less so to his God." Of him, also, the Rev. Dr. Samson said, 
" From his youthful editorials up to his elaborate papers there 
were a clearness and force and a fascination, of which many 



222 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

Still speak as having riveted their attention whenever they 
took up anything coming from his pen. . . . As age and 
the refining influence of growing religious faith and hope mel- 
lowed the ripening fruit of his last years, a sweetness and 
serenity of temper came over him which made his family and 
every circle where his hoary locks were seen moving, take on 
a new delight because of his presence." 

The following description of Deacon Zebedee Kendall's 
farm is taken from his distinguished son's entertaining Auto- 
biography : — 

" The farm was composed of bog meadow, pine plains, and oak hills. 
The meadows yielded the coarser kinds of grasses, intermixed with 
various ferns, cranberry-vines, and small bushes, but they also sup- 
plied most of the hay on which the cattle subsisted during the long 
New England winters. Through these meadows meandered a slug- 
gish stream called Salmon Brook, stocked with various kinds of fish. 
The pine plains rested on a bed of gravel, and, except along the foot 
of the hills, were almost barren. From these, however, the bread of 
the family was for the most part drawn. Next to the hills there were 
two four-acre fields, cultivated alternately in corn and rye. The corn 
crop was always manured, and the rye was sown in the fall among the 
corn, so that these fields were manured alternately every other year. 
The plains between the fields and the meadows were generally used as 
sheep pastures, but once in five or six years they produced a very small 
crop of rye of excellent quality. 

" The oak hills were composed of a clay soil, so full of rocks in many 
places as to preclude cultivation without removing them. With great 
labor small tracts were so far cleared as to become good upland meadow, 
furnishing excellent hay for horses and working spans. These uplands 
supplied an abundance of stones, with which the whole farm, except the 
pine plains, was enclosed ; the fences were of stone, combined with posts 
and rails. The upland meadows were cultivated in potatoes or corn once 
in five or six years, but seldom in rye, on account of its inferior quality 
when produced on a clay soil., A patch of flax was generally a part of 
the annual crop, and this, with the wool from a small flock of sheep, manu- 
factured and made up in the household, furnished almost the entire cloth- 
ing of the family. The rougher portions of the upland, much of which 
was never cultivated, furnished pasturage for the horses, oxen, and milch 
cows during the summer." 

Mr. Kendall thus vividly describes the discipline of his 
father's family : — 



1873] ^ WILD FLOWER. 223 

" Grace before and thanks after meat, and morning and evening prayers, 
with the reading of a chapter in the Bible and the singing of a hymn of 
Sunday, accompanied by the bass-viol, played by their eldest son while 
he was at home, constituted the regular religious exercises of the family. 
The father and mother never failed to attend church on Sunday, except 
in case of sickness or when absent from home ; and the entire family, one 
member only excepted, were required to maintain a like regularity in Sab- 
bath observances. Except in special cases, all labor beyond the simplest 
preparation of food for man and beast, and all recreation were strictly pro- 
hibited on Sunday. The evening was spent in learning and reciting the 
Westminster Catechism, in reading religious books, and in practising 
sacred music. The whole family could sing, and when all were present, 
could carry all the four parts of ordinary tunes." 

The following incident indicates the change which came 
over the good Dea. Zebedee Kendall, in respect to the use of 
an innocent instrument : — 

" When Amos was a little boy, a fiddle was an abomination to his father 
and mother. His eldest brother, who had quite a taste for music, having 
constructed a bass-viol or two, determined to try his hand upon a fiddle, 
and produced a very good instrument. Not daring to bring it to the 
house, he kept it in a cooper's shop, not far distant. His father, hunting 
there for something one day, mounted a bench so that his head was raised 
above the beams of the shop, when his eyes fell upon the unlucky fiddle. 
He took it by the neck, and apostrophizing it, ' This is the first ti?He I ever 
saw you! '' dashed it into the fireplace. 

" Being on a visit to his parents about thirty years afterwards, Amos 
Kendall went to meeting in Dunstable on a Sunday, and there sat his 
father in the deacon's seat, beneath the pulpit, as in former times, and 
there was a fiddle in the choir / " 

Mr. Kendall sometimes invoked the Muses. The following 
graceful lines were sent to his wife in 1829: — 

TO A WILD FLOWER. 
BY AMOS KENDALL. 

On the white cliffs of Elkhorn, with cedars o'erspread, 
Where beauty and wildness in silence repose, 

A gay little wild flower raised up its head, 
By zephyrs caressed as in sweetness it rose. 

Its beauties no culture could ever impart, 

No garden nor meadow can boast such a gem ; 

All native it blossomed, for never had art 
Transplanted its root or enamelled its stem. 



224 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

I saw it and loved it ; and now on my breast 

It breathes out its fragrance, its beauty displays ; 

My heart leaps to meet it, in ecstasy blest, 

The dream of my nights and the charm of my days. 

And oh, thought of rapture ! not like other flower 
Does it droop on the air, life and loveliness flinging ; 

But its charms and its fragrance increase every hour, 
And sweet little buds all around it are springing. 

Autobiography, p. 288. 

On his return from Europe, Mr. Kendall said to a friend of 
the writer, Jeremiah Colburn, Esq., of Boston, "I was thin and 
slender when a boy, I was thin and slender when I arrived at 
manhood, and you see I am thin and slender still." 

The Rev. Samuel Howe Tolman, only son of the Rev. 
Samuel and Rachel (Damon) Tolman, was born here Aug. 
12, 1826, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1848, and at 
Andover Theological Seminary in 1852. He acted as city 
missionary in Bath, Me., from 1853 to 1855, and was ordained 
as pastor of the church at Wilmington, Mass., Aug. 14, 1856. 
He was dismissed in 1870, and became pastor of the church 
in Lenox, Mass., April 2, 1872 ; but his mind becoming shat- 
tered, he committed suicide at Nelson, N. H., Oct. 6, 1873. 
He was a faithful and highly esteemed minister of the gospel.* 

The Rev. John Spaulding, d. d., though born in Mason, 
N. H., Nov, 30, 1800, went to Middlebury College in 1821, 
from Dunstable, where he had been for some time employed 
in working on a farm. He studied theology at Andover, and 
was ordained as an evangelist at Newburyport, Sept. 25, 1828. 
On the same day he was married to Miss Olive C. B. Kendall, 
daughter of Capt. Jonas Kendall, of Dunstable. She died 
March 14, 1852, and her remains were brought to her native 
town for interment. The field of Dr. Spaulding's early min- 
isterial labors was in the West. In iS^r he became secretary 
of the American Seamen's Society in New York City. He 
delivered a very able historical discourse in the church at Dun- 
stable, Nov. 19, 1865, and subsequently published an Autobiog- 

* See Congregational Quarterly for January, 1874. 



1873] SCHOOL-TEACHERS. 225 

raphy entitled From tJic Plozv to the Pulpit, which is written 
in a very pleasing style. 

Aside from its college graduates, Dunstable has produced 
many sons and daughters who, by their virtues and abilities, 
have adorned alike the offices of public and the quiet walks 
of private and domestic life. 

Among its teachers may be mentioned Miss Susannah 
Bancroft, daughter of Col. Ebenezer Bancroft, who taught 
successfully for many years. She married the Rev. David 
Howe Williston of Tunbridge, Vt., and died Jan. 8, 1S38. 
Her sister, Chloe Bancroft, born Nov. 8, 1768, was also a 
noted teacher in her day. She married Oliver Richardson, of 
Chelmsford, and died Jan. 17, 1807. Miss Elizabeth Ken- 
dall, daughter of Temple Kendall, and born Feb. 8, 1760, 
was long a popular teacher. Miss Catharine Parkhurst, 
daughter of Joel Parkhurst, Esq., born March 14, 1770, and 
Miss Susannah Woods were eminent school-mistresses. Miss 
Rhoda Taylor, daughter of Dea. Samuel Taylor, attained 
distinction as a teacher. She married Mr. Oliver Wright, and 
had a daughter who went out as a teacher to Burmah. Miss 
Sally Ingalls stood high as a teacher as early as 18 16, and 
afterwards married a Mr. Fife, Miss Sarah Bennett, daughter 
of Jonathan Bennett, Esq., acquired an enviable reputation as 
a teacher, and subsequently married Dr, Hezekiah Eldredge, 
The Misses Susan, Catharine, and Amanda Kendall, 
daughters of Capt. Jonas Kendall, were all good and faithful 
teachers. This family purchased the first piano owned in 
Dunstable. Miss Maria Swallow, afterwards Mrs. Francis 
Fletcher, taught for several years with success. She is the 
daughter of Asa and Susannah (Woods) Swallow, and at the 
close of her services as a teacher was married to Lieut. Francis 
Fletcher, whom she survives. Her father, born May i, 1767, 
was the son of Amaziah Swallow, who was born Nov. 22, 1732. 
He married, first, Elizabeth Kendall in 1758, and second, 
Mrs. Mary Woods, Feb. 16, 1786. The Misses Hannah 
and Roxanna Taylor, daughters of Mr. Jonas Taylor, were 
well educated and highly esteemed as teachers. The former 
married Mr. James Bowers, of Lowell, and is still living. In 
15 



226 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

the year 183 1 as many as twenty-two teachers received cer- 
tificates from the examining committee as being qualified for 
the office of teacher. Several had studied at the academies 
in Groton, Bradford, and New Ipswich At a later period 
Miss Emma Taylor, daughter of Mr. Samuel Taylor, and 
now the wife of the Rev. F. D. Sargent, of Brookline, N. H., 
was held in high estimation as a teacher. Miss Hannah M. 
Parkhukst, daughter of Henry Parkhurst, has obtained an 
enviable reputation as a teacher in the State of New York 

The teachers of the public schools in 1873 were Caroline F- 
Danforth, Lucy A. Robbins, R. E. Luce, A. A. Bancroft* 
Lizzie Nottage, Emma J. Cheney, Hattie J. Murphy, and 
Ellen E. Kendall. 

Alfred Mark Fletcher, born in Dunstable, Sept. 13, 
1850, studied music two years in Berlin, and is now a noted 
teacher of the organ and piano in Chicago. 

Dr. John A. Cummings, son of John Alfred Cumnfings, 
attained celebrity as a dentist, and was the inventor of the 
application of vulcanized rubber to dental purposes. He visited 
Europe in 1863, and died in 1869. His great-grandfather, 
Nathaniel Cummings, was one of the earliest settlers at 
Unquetynasset. 

The following is a list of persons in the town of Dunstable 
qualified to vote in elections, for State, county, and town 
ofTficers, and for representatives to Congress, as made out by 
the selectmen the twentieth day of February, 1873 : — 

Blodgett, George Z. Cu.m.\un(;s, Isaac V. 

Blodgett, George T, Cumajinc;s, Allen, Esq. 

Blood, Miles Cummings, Oliver 

Blood, W. E. Cummings, Everett M. 

Bennett, James Carkin, Amos 

Butterfield, Dexter Carkin, Albert B. 

BUTIERFIELD, ASA T. UaRLING, DaVID L. 

Brooks, Lawrence Downing, James L. 

Brooks, Edwin H. Davis, Moses 

Chapman, Elbridge G. Davis, James A. 

Chapman, Charles H. Davis, Thaddeus U. 

Cheney, Thomas F. Davis, Wm. A. 

Cheney, John B. Danforth, Vilas 

Cheney, Wm. F. Divoll, Charles B. 

Cummings, Josiah T. Fletcher, Francis 



i8;3] 



VOTERS IN 1873. 



227 



Fletcher, George W. 
French, Benjamin, Esq. 
French, Wm. L. 
Farnham, George 
GiLsoN, Andrew J. 
GiLSON, George F. 

GiLSON, ASAHIEL 

GiLSON, James H. 
GiLSON, Joel 
GiLSON, Jerome F. 
GiLSON, Alva 
Goss, Joseph W. 
GooK, George 
Hall, Ira 
Hall, Ira B. 
Howard, Samuel 
Haley, Edward 
Jewett, Ashur G. 
Kendall, Isaac 
Kendall, James 
Kendall, Chiles 
Kendall, Jonas C. 
Kendall, Andrew T. 
Kendall, Nathaniel C. 
Kendall, Wm. 
Kendall, Almond M. 
Keyes, Darwin P. 
Kemp, Wm. N. 
Marshall, Clement 
Proctor, Josiah C, Esq. 
Proctor, Jonathan 
Proctor, Z. P. 
Parkhurst, George 
Parkhurst, Thomas H. 
Parkhurst, Albert L. 
Parkhurst, John A. 
Parkhurst, Benajah 
Parkhurst, Americus 
Parkhurst, Owen A. 
Parkhurst, Jacob, Jr. 
Parkhurst, Lyman V. 
Parker, Thomas 
Parker, Jonathan 
Parker, Libni 
Parker, L. H. 

Dunstable, Feb. 20, 1S73. 



Perkins, Jeremiah 
Page, Wm. H. 
Plummer, John K. 
Prescott, Chas. a. 
Ryder, Sanford U. 
RoBBiNS, Jotham 
RoBniNS, Freeman L. 
Rideaut, David 
Rideaut, David F. 
Richardson, Daniel 
ROBY, Gilman 
Rockwell, Charles 
Ryder, James H. 
Searles, Charles W. 
Spaulding, Samuel T. 
Spaulding, Jonas 
Spaulding, Hiram 
Sturtevant, Asaph K 
Swallow, John 
Swallow, Daniel 
Swallow, Alpheus 
Swallow, James M. 
Steadman, Ebenezes. 
Story, Solomon 
Story, Arthur B. 
Taylor, Samuel S. 
Taylor, Isaac O. 
Taylor, Oliver 
Taylor, Eliott O. 
Tuttle, Charles 
Tolles, Henry J. 
Tully, Henry L. 
Upton, Peter K. 
Woodward, James 
Woodward, James C. 
Woodward, Charles N. 
Woodward, Jonathan H. 
Woodward, Andrew J. 
Whitcomb, Lowell 
Weston, Charles E. 
Weston, James E. 
Woods, Isaac N. 
Woods, Sumner 
Wright, George P. 
Young, Wallace N. 



Freeman L. Robbins, 
Washington E. Blood, 
John A. Parkhurst, 



Selectmen 
of Dunstable. 



228 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [iS/S 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Inscriptions on the Headstones of the Old Cemetery on Meeting- 
house Hill. — Inscriptions from the Burial-Place near the Site of 
" The Haunted House." — Inscriptions from the Gravestones in 
the Old Burial-Place at Little's Station. — Inscriptions from the 
Graveyard near the House of Alpheus Swallow. Esq. — Inscrip- 
tions from the Central Cemetery. — List of Deaths, from the 
Town Records. — List of Births, from the Town Records. 

" Tlie cluirchyard, to the inhabitants of a rural parish, is the place to 
which as they grow older all their thoughts and feelings turn." 

John Wilson. 
" Our labors done, securely laid 
In this our last retreat, 
Unheeded o'er our silent dust 
The storms of life shall beat." 

Henry K. White. 

The following inscriptions on the head-stones in the old 
burial-place on Meeting- House Hill were copied by Mr. Dexter 
Butterfield : — 

Here Lyes the Body of Mrs. Rachel Taylor, who Departed this Life 
the 17th of February, A. D. 1754, Aged 5 years, 9 months, and 4 days. 

Here Lyes the Body of Rachal Pike, Relict {sic) of Beniamin, who 
Departed this Life the 26th of Decemb., A. D. 1754, Aged 7 years, 4 
months, & 14. 

This is the First pas. 

Here lies Buried The Body of Ensign Ebenezer Parkhurst, who 
Departed This Life June The 13th, 1757, in The 58th Year of his Age. 

From Deaths Arit' no Age is Free. 

Memento Mori. Here lies Buried the body of Lieut. John Ken- 
dall, who departed this life July the 27th, An. Dom., 1759, Aged 63 
years, 6 months, and 8 days. Few and Evil. 

Life is a Blessing can't he sold. 

The Ransom is too high ; 
Justice will ne'er be hrib'd with gold, 

That Man may never die. 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS ON MEETING-HOUSE HILL. 229 

You see the Foolish & the Wise, 

The Timerous & the Brave, 
Quit their Possessions, close their eves. 

And hasten to the Grave. — WATTii. 

Memento Mori. Here lies the Body of Mr. John Steel, who 
Departed this Life August the 8th, 1760, Aged 57 years. 

The Memory of 
The Just 
Is Blist. 

Here lies Buried the Body of Joseph Goodhue, Son of the Rev. 
Josiah Goodhue and Mrs. Elizabeth his Wife, who departed this life the 
4th day of March, 1761, Aged 19 Days. 

From Deaths Arrest no age is free. 

Here lies the Body of Mrs. Jane Steel, Relict of Mr. John Steel, who 
Departed This Life Nov. 20, A. D. 1764, in the 60th year of her age 

Here lies the Body of Mrs. Ruth Kendall, the wife of Mr. Abra- 
ham Kendall, who departed this Life June 17, A. D. 1765, in the 69th 
year of her age. 

Here lies the Body of Mrs. Sarah French, wife of Mr. Ebenezer 
French, who departed this Life, May 22d, 1767, in the 27th year of her 
age. 

Here lies the Body of Mrs. Abigail Blood, Wife of Mr. Robert Blood, 
who departed this Life August 14, 1767, In the 31st year of her age. 

Memento Mori. Here lies the body of Capt. John Cummings, who 
departed this Life Aug. 15th, 1770, In ye 75 year of his Age. 

Mrs. Joanna Butterfield, wife of Capt. Leonard Butterfield, who 
departed this Life May ye 26th, 1771, aged 28. 

In Memory of Mr. Joseph Pike, who Departed this Life March 28th, 
1778, In the 88 year of his age. 

Memento Mori. In Memory of Mrs. Mary Read, wife of Mr. 
Timothy Read, Junr., who departed this Life Nov. 3d, 1778, in the 71st 
year of her age. 

Memento Mori. Here Lies the Body of Miss Scibel Read, 
Daughter of Mr. Timothy Read, Junr., and Mrs. Susannah, his wife, who 
Departed this Life, Julyye 27th, 1781, Aged 18 years, 3 months, & 6 days. 

Dear friends for me pray Do not weep, 
I am not dead but here Do sleep, 
Within this solid Lump of Clay, 
Until the Reserection day ; 
And here indeed I must Remain, 
Till Christ shall Raise me up again. 



230 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1^73 

Erected in Memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Swallow, wife of Lieut. 
Amaziali Swallow, who departed this Life Dec. 9th, A. D., 1784, Aged 45 
years, 10 months, and 17 days. 

Retire, my Friends, dry up your Tears, 
Here 1 must lie till Christ appears. 

In Memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Cumings, wife of Capt. John Cum- 
ings, who died July 2d, 1793, Aged 78. 

In Memory of Mr. Timothy Read, who departed this Life April 26th, 
1799, ^ri the 86th year of his age. 

Sacred In Memory of Mr. Abraham Kendall, Avho died Nov. 14, 
1799, Aet 87. 

In Memory of Mrs. Hannah Taylor, wife of Mr. David Taylor, 
who died Oct. 3d, 1800, Aged 81 years. 

Behold and see, as you pass by, 
, As you are now, so once was I ; 

As I am now, so you must be, 
Prepare for death and follow me. 

Erected in Memory of Capt. Leonard Butterfield, who departed 
this Life Nov. 17, 1800, Aged 60 years. 

Erected in Meinory of Lieut. Amaziah Swallow, who died Jan. 21st, 
1803, Oct. 17. 

In memory of Mr. Ebenezer French, who died April 14, iSoS, In his 
77th year. 

Sacred to the memory of Mr. David Taylor, who died Dec. 15, 
1809, Aet 88. 

The following inscriptions ai'e abbreviated : — 

Olive, wafe of Capt. Leonard Butterfield, d. Jan. 26, 18 17, aged 79 years, 
John, son of Capt. Leonard Butterfield, d. Oct. 18, 1778, aged 10 months. 
Sarah, dau. of Capt. Leonard Butterfield, d. June 30, 1809, aged 31 years. 
Sarah, dau. of Capt. Leonard Butterfield, d. Oct. 28, 1778, aged 9 years. 
Molly, dau. of Capt. John Cummings, d. Aug. 24, 1758, aged 11 years. 
Jane, wife of Robert Dunn, d. Nov. 6, 181 1, aged 74 years. Robert Dunn, 
d. Jan. 8, 1808, aged 74 years. Samuel Dunn, d. Nov. 9, 1798, aged 34 
years. Polly, dau. of Jesse Dutton, d. Oct. 18, 1778, aged i y. 9 m. 5 days. 
Hannah, wife of Jonathan Emerson, d. Jan. 21, 1756, aged 23 years. 
William, son of Jonathan Fletcher, d. Oct. 21, 1778, aged 6 years and 11 
months. Francis, son of Thomas Fletcher, d. Apr. 9, 1773, aged i year, 
4 months, and 9 days. Susanna, dau. of Jonathan Fletcher, d. Oct. 15, 
1778, aged 2 years, 4 months, and 9 days. Susanna, wife of Ebenezer 
French, d. Dec. 27, 1S08, aged 73 years. Mary D., dau. of John P'rench. 
d. Feb. 14, 18 17, aged 4 years. Adford Jaquith, d. July 16, 1791, aged 
82 years. Margaret, wife of Adford Jaepiilh. d. Jan. 24, 1776, aged 62 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE TYNG BURIAL-PLACE. 23 I 

years. Jane, wife of Abraham Kendall, d. Apr. 28, 1806, aged 84 years. 
Susanna, relict of Lieut. John Kendall, d. June 17, 176'S, aged 66 years. 
Mary, relict (or daughter) of Isaac Pike, d Jan. 10, 1776, aged 21 years 
and 10 months. Lydia, dau. of Benjamin Pike, d. Dec. 17, 1754, aged i 
year, 5 months, and 20 days. Benjamin, son of Benjamin Pike, d Sept. 
I, 1757, aged 7 months. Leonard, son of Eleazer Read, d. Sept. 3, 1788, 
aged I year. Betsy, dau. of Eleazer Read, d. May 8, 1789, aged 8 years. 
Martha, dau. of Timothy Read,d. Jan. 20, 1758, aged 16 years. Rebeckah, 
dau. of Timothy Read, d. Sept. 22, 1778, aged 8 years. James, son of 
Timothy Read, d. Sept. 23, 1778, aged one year. Betsy, wife of Lieut. 
Josiah Stevens, d. July 28, 1800, aged 27 years. Marv, dau. of Ama- 
ziah Swallow, d. Nov. 7, 1798, aged 20 years, 10 months, and 7 days. 
Kendall, son of Amaziah Swallow, d. Oct. 25, 1778, aged 4 years, 6 months, 
and 2 days. Rebecca, dau. of Amaziah Swallow, d. Aug. 17, 1765, aged 

1 year and 8 months. Deborah, dau. of Amaziah Swallow, d. Oct. 28, 
1778, aged 4 years and 11 months. Rebecca, dau. of Dr. Ebenezer Starr, 
d. Nov. I, 1778, aged 17 months. Jacob, son of James Taylor, d. March 
7, 1789, aged 6 years. Abigail, dau. of James Taylor, d. Sept. 30, 1778, 
aged 2 years. William, son of Dea. Samuel Taylor, d. May 6, 1771, 
aged 12 years. Ruth, dau. of Dea. Samuel Taylor, d. July 4, 1779. aged 
6 weeks. Edee, dau. of Dea. Samuel Taylor, d. Jan. 9, 1789, aged 4 
years. William, son of Dea. Samuel Taylor, d. Oct. 11, 1798, aged 6 
years. Edee, dau. of Dea. Samuel Taylor, d. Sept. 28. 1798, aged 9 
weeks. Katharine, wife of Benjamin Woodward, cL Feb. 12, 1769. 
Eunice, wife of Benjamin Woodward, d. Sept. 25, 1778, aged 39 years. 
Rachel, dau. of Benjamin Woodward, d. Sept. 9, 1778, aged 2 years and 

2 days. Abel, son of Benjamin Woodward, d. Sept. 11, 1778, aged 4 
years. Benjamin, son of Benjamin Woodward, d. Sept. 14, 1778, aged 7 
years, 11 months, and 22 days. Eunice, dau. of Benjamin Woodward, d- 
Sept. 18, 1778, aged 5 years and 9 months. 

It seems that by some disease, not recorded, five deaths 
occurred in the family of Mr. Woodward in less than three 
weeks. 

The following interesting inscriptions are copied from tab- 
lets in the old burial-place, near where the "haunted house" 
stood, on the river road, about one mile south of l^yngsborough 
Centre. It is probably the first locality settled in Dunsta- 
ble:— 

"Here lyeth the Body of Mr. Edward Ting, Esqr., aged 71 years. 
Died December 27 Day 1681." It is on a horizontal slab of granite, sup- 
ported by a pile of brick and stone. 



232 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

" Underneath are Entombed the Remains of Eleazer Tyng^, Esq., who 
died May 21, 17S2, aged 92; Mrs. Sarah Tyng, wlio died May 23. I753> 
aged 59. John Alford Tyng, Esq., who died Sept. 4, 1775, aged 44; John 
Winslow, Esq., who died Nov. 3, 1788, aged 88 ; Mrs. Sarah Winslow 
(the last surviving child of the said Eleazer Tyng and the truly liberal 
Benefactress of the church of Christ and Grammar School in this place, 
in honor of whose name and family it is called Tyngsborough), who died 
Oct. 29, 1 79 1, aged 72. 

The above names are all inscribed on the face of a large 
horizontal slate-stone slab, at the head of which rises an 
ancient Lombardy poplar. 

This cemetery, consisting of an area of about one acre, is 
neatly enclosed and contains the remains of the Farwell, Col- 
burn, Drake, and other families. 

The following inscriptions from the old burial-place at 
Little's Station were copied by Benjamin French, Esq.: — 

■'■-Here lies the Body of Mrs. Deborah Kendall, wife of Mr. John 
Kendall, who died March ye 3d, A. D. 1739, 45 years old. 

Dea. Thomas Cohurn died Nov. 2d, 1770, in the Soth year of his age. 

Here lyes ye Body of Ensign Joseph Farwell, Dec'd December ye 
31, 1722, in ye 82d year of his age. 

Here lyes Buried the Body of the Hon. Joseph Blanxhard, Esq., 
who departed this life April 7th, 1758, aged 55 years. 

Here lyes interred ye body of Josiah Willard, Captain of Fort Dum- 
mer, formerly of Lancaster, Lunenburg, and Winchester, and Colonel of 
Regiment of foot, who died here December ye 8, Anno Domini, 1750, in 
ye 58 year of his age. 

Erected to the memory of Ep.enezer Starr, Physician, who died 
Sept. 7, 1798, aged 52 years. 

Here Lyes Buried the Body of Mr. Ebenezer Cumings, who Deceased 
Sept. y' 5th, 1724, in y" 29th year of his age. 

Here lies Buried the Body of Deacon Jonathan French who departed 
this life Nov. 17, 1757, in y° 54th year of his age. 

Erected in memory of Capt. Benjamin French whose remains are here 
interred, who departed this life Dec. 15, A. D. 1779, '" ^I'lc 74th year of 
his age. 

Memento More — Here lyes the body of Mr. Benjamin French, 
son of Capt. Benjamin French, and Molly, his wife. He departed this life 
Oct. 29, 1776, in the 23d year of his age. 

Here lies the body of Mrs. Mary French, wife of Capt. Benjamin 
French, who departed this life Dec. 17, 1774, aged 44 years, 7 nios. and 
8 days. 



1873] INSCRimONS AT ^LITTLES STATION. 233 

Here lies the body of Colonel Joseph French, who departed this life 
March 21, 1776, in the 63d year of his ac^e. 

Here lies y" body of Mrs. Elizabeth Frenxh, wife of Capt. Joseph 
French, who deceased Jan. 20, A. D. 1753, in the 44th year of her age. 

Here lyes the body of Deacon Thomas Cumings, aged 64 years and 
17 days, Deceased Jan. 20, 1722-3 

In memory of Esther Lovewell, daughter of Col. Noah Lovewell, 
and Mrs. Mary, his wife, Died Oct. y* 17, 1777, aged 3 years 4 mos. and 
8 days. Her brother Noah, aged 5 mos. and 25 days, lies buried beside 
her. 

Here lies interred the Remains of Col. Zaccheus Lovewell, who 
departed this life April 12, 1772, in the 72 year of his age. 

Erected in memory of Mrs. Hannah Starr, wife of Ebenezer Starr, 
who died March 22, 1794, aged 42. 

In memory of Rebecca Starr, wife of Dr. Ebenezer Starr, who died 
Oct. 19, i8io, in the 45th year of her age. 

Erected in memory of the Hon. Jonathan Blanchard whose re- 
mains are here interred, who departed this life July y" i6th, 1788, aged 51, 
son of Hon. Joseph Blanchard, Esq. 

Here Lies y° Body of Isaac French, y" son of Capt. Joseph French 
and Mrs. Bridget French, his wife, who Died Aug. y° 4th, A. D. 1753, in 
y" 20th year of his age. 

In Memory of Maj. John Lund, who died March nth, 1S22, Aet. 74. 
One who took an active part in the liberty of his country and defended 
well at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

Hannah, wife of Maj. John Lund, died May 4, 1847, Aet. 96. 

In Memory of Jonathan Harvard, son of Jonathan Harvard, who 
died May 27, 1802, aged 5 years and 7 months. 

Lie still, sweet child, and take your rest, 
God called you home when he thought best. 

Erected in Memory of Mrs. Charlotte Harvard, wife of Mr. Jona- 
than Harvard, who departed this life July nth, 1801, in the 28th year of 

her age. 

Friends and physicians could not save 
My mortal body from the grave ; 
Nor can this grave contain me here 
When Jesus calls me to appear. 

Rev. Nathaniel Prentice, B»fen December,^ 1698, settled as the 
second minister in Dunstable 1720. Died Feb. 25th, 1737, Aet. 39. 

Here lies the Body of Mrs. Elizabeth Weld, the wife of Mr. Thomas 
Weld, aged about 31 years, who died on July the 29th in the year 1687. 

In Memory of Col. Ebenezer Bancroft, who died Sept. 22, 1827, 
Aet. 90. He was an Officer in the French War and in the American 
Revolution, and was in the battle at Bunker Hill. 



234 HISTORY OF DU.VSTABLE. [1873 

In Memory of Mrs. Susannah, wife of Col. Ebenezer Bancroft, who 
died Oct. 4, 1823, Aet. 80. 

Here lies the Body of Lieut. Timothy Bancroft, who departed this 
life Nov. 2 1st, 1772, in the 63'' year of his age. 

Here lies ye Body of Mrs. Elizabeth Bancroft, ye wife of Lieut. 
Timothy Bancroft, who Dec'\ Sept'. 23d, A. D. 1754, in ye 39th year of 
her age. 

In Memory of Ebenezer Bancroft, Esq., who died May 6, 1858, 
Aet. 80. He was the son of Col. Ebenezer and Susanna Bancroft. He 
tilled the Farm of his ancestors through life. Industry, economy, and 
temperance were his characteristic habits, ever governed by justice and 
rectitude. The admiration of men he never sought, but at home all affec- 
tion and kindness. Sweet offices of love and duty were to him as needful 
as his daily bread. 

Here lies Buryed y° Body of Mr. Thomas Adams, who departed this 
life February y° i8th, A. D. 1746, in y" 71st year of his age. 

Here lies Buried y" Body of Phinehas Adams, y' son of Mr. Thomas 
and Mrs. Juda Adams, who Dec'd December 4, 1747, Age 23 years, 7 
months, and 28 days. 

Here lyes the Body of Mrs. Ruth Hill, the wife of Enoch Hill, who 
departed this life the 7th of February, A. D. 1747, Aged 36. 

Here lies Buried the Body of Mrs. Jane, the wife of Dea. Samuel 
Greley, who departed this life June 12th, 1762, in the 58 year of her age. 

Here lies the Body of Mrs. Bridget French, the wife of Capt. Joseph 
French, who Departed this life October 29, 1735, i" the 20th year of her age. 

In Memory of Mrs. Hannah, Wife of Ebenezer Bancroft, Esq., who 
died Oct. 13, 1870, aged 94 years, i mo., and 15 days. 

As in years, so in duty, she excelled : long made home glad. 

In Memory of Dea. Jonathan Bancroft, who died July 11, 1815, in 
the 65th year of his age. 

Surviving friends, come take a thought, 
How soon the grave must be your lot ; 
Make sure of Christ while life remains, 
And death will be eternal gain. 

Here lies Timothy Bancroft, Junr, who dcp. this life Aug. 12, 1754, 
in ye 2 1st year of his age. 

From Death's Arrest no age is Free, 
My Friends, Prepare to follow me. 

This Erected by E. B. in 177-]. 

Capt. Matthew Cii.VMiir.KS, an officer of the Revolution, died Jany. 
30, 1809, Mi. 73. 

Here lies Interred the Remains of Ensign Samuel Howard, who 
Departed this life February 7th, 1769, Aged 84 years and 10 months. 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE SWALLOW CEMETERY. 235 

In Memory of Mr. Oliver Lund, who departed this life March i8lh, 
1776, aged 24 years. 

Erected in Memory of Mrs. Catherinah Houston, 2d Wife of Mr. 
Ovid Houston, who departed this life Nov. 17, 1778, in ye 45th year of 
her age. 

Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. 

Here Lyes the Body of Mr. Eleazer Blanchard, who departed this 
life the 19th day of March, 1753, in the 22d year of his age. 

Elizabeth Farwell, Daughter of Mr. Isaac and Sarah Farwell, 
Dect Novembr ye 1st, 1727, Aged 7 months & 21 days. 

In Memory of Dea. Benjamin Smith, who died March 29th, 1821, in 
the 85th year of his age. 

In Memory of Mrs. Johannah Smith, Wife of Dea. Benjamin Smith, 
who died Aug. 21st, 1814, in the 71st year of her age. 

Sacred to the Memory of Ensign Benjamin Smith, who died Aug. 16, 
1805, in the 41st year of his age. 

A husband kind, a parent dear, 
A neighbor just, a friend sincere, 
Confess'd by all with him acquainted, 
He lived beloved and died lamented. 

Rebecca, the wife of Timothy Presby, died Sept. 10, 1841, /Et. 38. 

Husband, why drop a silent tear, 

Oh, wherefore do you mourn ? 
My joys are great beyond degree, 

I wish not to return. 

In Memory of Mrs. Clarisa, Wife of Mr. Timothy Presby, who died 
July 13, 1820, yEt. 32. 

Farewell, my Partner, child so dear. 
Weep not for me, dry up your tears, 
And when the last loud trump shall sound 
I hope in Christ we shall be found. 

Names of .some persons buried in the cemetery near the 
house of Alpheus Swallow, Esq. : — 

Here lies the body of Ensign John Swallow^, who departed this life 
Feb. 5, 1776, aged 66 years, 5 mos., and 21 days. 

(He was the great-grandfather of Alpheus Swallow, Esq.) 

Here lies the body of Mrs. Sulana Spaulding, wife of Mr. Abel 
Spaulding, who departed this life Aug. 10, 1766, aged 29 years, 7 mos., 
and 13 days. 

In Memory of Mr. Abel Spauldino. who died May 18, 1S20, /Et. 
84. Also Mrs. Lydia, wife of Abel Spaulding, wlio died March 9, 1825, 
AiX. 79. 



236 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

The following inscriptions from the Central Cemetery,* 
Dunstable, were copied for this work by Miss Hannah M. Park- 
hurst : — 

Ann Eliza, dau. of Calvin and Catharine Read, d. Sept. i, 1835, aged 
2 yrs., 7 mos., and 7 ds. 

Alas ! how changed this fair flower, 

Which bloomed and cheered the heart, 
Fair, fleeting comforts of an hour. 
How soon we're called to part ! 

In memory of Mrs. Rachel, w. of Mr. Eleazer Read, who died Feb. 
28, 1828, aged 87. 

In memory of Mr. Eleazer Read, who died Aug. 10, 181 1, aged 61. 
In memory of Capt. Caleb Read, who died Nov. 25, 1838, aged 63. 
Calm in the bosom of thy God, 

Fair spirit, rest thee now. 
E'en while with us thy footsteps trod, 
His seal was on thy brow. 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah Read, w. of Mr. Caleb Read, who died 
May 14, 1805, in the 26 yr. of her age. 

Behold, my children, as you pass by, 

As you are now, so once was I, 
As I am now, so you must be, 
Prepare for death and follow me. 

Betsey, dau. of Capt. Caleb and Mrs. Caty Read, died Oct. 19, 1826, 
aged 5 yrs., 4 mos., and 9 ds. 

Sweet child no more, but serajih now, 
Before the throne behold her bow ; 
Her soul, enlarged to angel's size, 
Joins in the triumphs of the skies. 

In memory of Mark Read, s. of Mr. Caleb and Mrs. Sarah Read, 
who died March 14, 1805, aged 7 mos. and 16 ds. 

.Sleep on, sweet babe, and take thy rest, 
God called thee when he thought it best. 

In memory of Miss Rachel Read, dau. of Mr. Caleb and Mrs. Sarah 
Read, who d. March 27, 181 8, aged 17. 

In memory of Mary, w. of Lieut. Zebulon Blodgett, died June 27, 1S39, 
aged 74. 

" And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image 
of the heavenly." 

* Years, months, and days are expressed by yrs., mos., and ds. ; wife, daughter, 
son, and died, by w., dau., s., and d. When the same stanza of poetry is inscribed 
on several head-stones, it is here printed in but one or two instances. 



1873] INSCR/PTJONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 237 

Erected in memory of Lieut. Zebulon Blodgett, who died March 21, 
1 81 3, in the 61 st year of his age. 

In memory of Mr. Josiah W. Blodgett, who died June 22, 1805, in 
the 26tli year of his age. 

In memory of Widow Olive Blodgett, relict of Mr. Josiah Blodgett, 
who died Mav 2, 1813. aged 74. 

Sacred to the memory of Mr. Josiah Blodgett, who died June 22, 
1805, aged 67. 

Sacred to the memory of Mr. Josiah Blodgett, who died Fet), 9, 1792, 
in the 84th year of his age. 

In memory of Mrs. Jemima Blodgett, relict of Mr. Josiah Blodgett, 
who died Nov. 24, 1810, aged 91 yrs. 

Here lies buried the Body of Mrs. Hannah Kendall, the w. of Mr. 
Ebenezer Kendall, who departed this life Feb. the 10, 1861, in the 45th 
year of her Age, with Joseph Hasy Kendall, her son, who departed 
this life 1760, aged 4 mos. 

Here lies buried the body of Insign Ebenezer Kendall, who departed 
this Life Dec^. 20, 1774, In the 65th yr. of his age. 

In memory of Mr. Edward Kendall, who died May 26, 1813, aged 
78 years. 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah Kendall, w. of Mr. Edward Kendall, who 
d. 16 Deer 1806, aged 68 yrs. 

In memory of Mrs. Anna, w. of Mr. Samuel Brown, who d. Oct. 28, 
1 794, aged 26 yrs. 

"Is it nothing to you ? Behold and see." Samuel 1:12. 

In life true virtue calls forth all our powers, 
Time flies and ends, eternity is ours. 

Erected to the memory of Miss Mary Worcester, who d. Nov. 9, 
1811, in the 64th yr. of her age. 

Friends and physicians could not save 
My mortal body from the grave ; 
Nor can the grave confine me here 
When Christ shall call me to appear. 

Sacred to the memory of Capt. Samuel Stevens, who d. Dec. 10, 
1805, aged 72 yrs. 

Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Tabitha Stevens, widow of Capt. 
Samuel Stevens, who d. March 16, 1807, aged 67 yrs. 

In memory of a son and daughter of Mr. Isaac Taylor, Junr.,and Mrs. 
Polly his w. The daughter d. March 4, 181 1, aged 30 hours, the son d. 
March 24, 1811, aged 20 ds. 

So fades each lovely, bhjoming flower, 
Frail, smiling solace of an hour ; 
So soon our transient comforts fly, 
And pleasures only bloom to die. 



238 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

In memory of two children of Mr. Joel Keyes and Mrs. Polly his w. 
Ann, d. Aug. 24, 1810, in the 3d yr. of her age. Sophia, Aug. 26, 1810, 
in tlie 5th yr. of her age. 

Sleep on, dear children, and take your rest 
God called you home, He thought it best. 

Sophia Keyes, d. June 20, 1869, aged 56 yrs. and 9 mos. 

Sacied to the memory of Mrs. Polly, w. of Mr. Joel Keyes, who d. 
Jan. 9, i8jj4, aged 68. 

Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Mary, w. of Mr. Joel Keyes, who d. 
July 26, 1848, aged 61. 

Sacred to the memory of Mr. Joel Keyes, who d. Dec. 15, 1858, aged 
82. 

In memory of Mrs. Rhoda, relict of Ens. Samuel Fletcher, who d. 
Feb. 11, 1824, aged 54. 

A soul prepared needs no delays, 
The summons comes, the saint obeys, 
Swift was the flight and short the road ; 
She closed her eyes, and saw her God. 

In memory of Ens. Samuel Fletcher, who d. April 10, 1813, aged 

43- 

In memory of Mr. Charles Kendall, who d. Jan. 5, 1836, aged 38. 

" For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 

In memory of Andrew Temple, s. of Mr. Temple and Mrs. Prudence 
Kendall, who d. Dec. 21, 1818, aged 5 mos. 

In memory of Miss Elizabeth Kendall, dau. of Lieut, and Mrs. 
Abigail Kendall, who deceased July 14, 1797, in the 38th yr. of her age. 
In faith she dy'd, in dust she lies, 
But faith foresees that dust shall rise, 
When Jesus calls, while Hope assumes 
And boasts her joy among the tombs. 

In memory of Jeremiah Kendall, s. of Mr. Temple Kendall and 
Abigail his wife, who d. Nov. 6, 1778, aged 4 yrs., 2 mos., and 9 ds. 

In memory of Olive Kendall, dau. of Mr. Temple Kendall and Mrs. 
Abigail his w., who d. Nov. 9, 1778, aged 6 yrs., i mo., and 9 ds. 

Sacred to the memory of Lieut. Temple Kendall, who d. March 6, 
1822, aged 90 yrs., and of Abigail, his w., who d. Jan. 9, 1820, aged 87. 
Here all is rest and sweet repose, 

Here all our sorrows cease, 
For Jesus meets our spirits here, 
And kindly whispers " Peace." 

In Memory of Hannah Farwell Woods, dau. of Mr. Caleb and Mrs, 
Betty Woods, who died June yc ist, 1793, aged 6 yrs. 9 mos., & 20 ds. 



1873] INSCA'IPTIOiVS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 239 

In Memory of Mr. Caleb Woods, Jr., who died ist Mar., 1S09, In the 
41st y of his age. 

Friends, physicians could not save 
My mortal body from the grave, 
Nor can the grave confine it here 
When Christ shall call me to appear. 

In memory of Mrs. Abigail, relict of Mr. Caleb Woods, Jr., who d. 
Aug. 3, 1839, aged 72. 

Reader, slight not proffered grace, 

Slight not a Saviour's blood, 
But now, while mercy waits. 

Prepare to meet your God. 

In memory of Miss Rebeckah, dau. of Mr. Caleb and Mrs. Abigail 
Woods, who d. Sept. 3, 1826, aged iS years. 

Did Christ for sinners weep ? 

And shall our cheeks be dry ? 
Let floods of penitential grief 

Burst forth from every eye. 

Hannah Woods, d. Sept. 3, 1870, aged 76 years. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

In memory of Mrs. Betty, w. of Mr. Caleb Woods, who d. Jan. 8, 

1837, aged 90. 

In Jesus Christ I sought for rest, 

He bade me cease to roam, 
And flv for succour to his breast, 

And now He 's took me home. 

In memory of Mr. Caleb Woods, who d. Aug. 13, 1822, aged 85. 
Mr. Noah Woods, d. Oct. 16, 1829, aged 52 yrs. 

Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. 

In memory of Henry F. Woods, s. of Mr. Caleb and Mrs. Betty 
Woods, who d. Sth April, 1809, in the 25 yr. of his age. 
Youth, blooming fair, and age must die. 

And nature will decay. 
Their souls to kindred spirits fly. 
And hail eternal day, 

Mary, widow of Ebenezer Proctor, d. Nov. 16, 1842, aged 92. 
As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 

In memory of Mr. Ebenezer Proctor, who d. March 3, 1S13, aged 74. 
In memory of Mrs. Sarah Proctor, w. of Mr. Ebenezer Proctor, who 
departed this life Oct. 16, 1778, aged 36 yrs., 3 mos., & 16 ds. 



240 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [iS/S 

Memento Mori. — In memory of Mr. Ebenezer Proctor, who de- 
parted this Life May 14, 1774, in y 75th year of his age. 

Behold and see, all that pass by, 
As you are now so once was I ; 
As I am now so you must be, 
Prepare for death and follow me. 

In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth, w. of Mr. Ebenezer Proctor, who d. 
Jan. 12, 1799, aged 70. 

In memory of Mr. John Proctor, s. of Mr. Ebenezer, Sr., and Mrs. 
Elizabeth his w., who departed this life Sept. 18, 1779, ii^ ^^e — year of 
his age. 

Frail man as soon as born decays, 

Like flowers that quickly fade, 
He counts a few and thoughtless days, 
Then ]iasses like the shade. 

In memory of Gekshom Proctor, s. of Mr. Gershom Proctor and 
Mrs. Sarah Proctor, who d. Oct. ye 14, 1783, aged i mo. & 5 days. 

In memory of Sarah Proctor, w. of Mr. Gershom Proctor, who d. 
Feb. ye i6th, 1791, in the 34th year of her age. 

Betty Proctor, dau. of Mr. Gershom Proctor and Mrs. Sarah his w., 
d. Feb. 16, I79r, aged 12 hours. 

In memory of Mr. Gershom Proctor, who d. Dec. 17, 1813, aged 61 
yrs. 

In memory of Mrs. Mary, widow of Mr. Gershom Proctor, who d. May 
22, 1827, aged 67. 

Erected in memory of Mr. Amos Proctor, who died April 27, 1815, 
aged 21 yrs. 

Dry up your tears, surviving friends, 
Mourn not for me, but for your sins, 
Die to the world, live unto God 
The grave must soon be your abode. 

Wm. p., s. of Mr. Wm. and Mrs. Rhoda Chandler, d. Oct. 5, 1819, aged 
2 yrs. and 9 mos. 

Here lies my little son at rest, 

God called him when He thought it best. 

Sarah Ann R., dau. of Ens. Josiah T. and Mrs. Rebecca Cumings, d. 
July 14, 1833, aged 3 yrs., 3 mos., and 25 ds. 

Mortal, now indulge a tear, 
See, our child is sleeping here. 
Now its soul in Heaven will see 
What was veiled in mystery. 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah Cumings, w. of Capt. Josiah Cumings, 
wlio d. Jany- 24, 1820, aged 38. 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 24 1 

In memory of Josiah Cummings, Esq., who d. Sept. 12, 1834, aged 71 

yrs. 

He was a soldier of the Revolution. 

In memory of Mrs. Josiah, w. of Josiah Cummings, Esq., who d. Nov. 
24, 1840, aged 80. 

In memory of Mrs. Rebekah Cumings, w. of Mr. Nathaniel Cumings, 
who d. is'ii Oct. 1808, in the 57 yr. of her age. 

Farewell, my partner, children all. 
For God, my Saviour, does me call. 
Prepare to meet on Canaan's shore, 
Where parting hours are known no more. 

In memory of Mr. Nathaniel Cumings, who d. May ai^t, 1812, 
aged 61 yrs. 

Farewell, my children, near and dear, 
Weep not for me, nor shed a tear. 
But strive the better part to obtain. 
And then to die will be your gain. 

In memory of Mrs. Catharine Cumings, rehct of Mr. Nathaniel 
Cumings. who d. 4 Nov. 1807, in the 81 yr. of her age. 

Look here, my friends, turn off your eyes 

From earth and earthly vanities. 

And in me read your certain fate 

T' which death will call you soon or late. 

In memory of Mrs. Esther Cumings, relict of Maj. Nathaniel Cum- 
ings, who d. Nov. 23, 1816, aged 49. 

Sacred to the memory of Maj. Nathaniel Cumings, who d. April 17, 
181 3, in the 45'-^ yr. of his age. 

In memory of Mrs. Sibbel Cumings, w. of Capt. Oliver Cumings, who 
d Dec. 16, 1812, aged 78 yrs. 

Sacred to the memory of Capt. Oliver Cumings, who d. Aug. 15, 
1810, aged 83 yrs. 

Memento Mori. — Erected to the memory of the widow Elizabeth 
Taylor, who departed this life March 14, 1794, in the 93 yr. of her age. 
By age our body wears away. 

By age our flesh it must decay, 
Then let our spirits wing away. 
To see an everlasting day. 

Here lies the body of Mr. Jeremiah Cumings, who departed this Life 
Oct 10, 1773, aged 45 yrs., 9 mos., and 3 ds. 

In memory of Miss Betsey, dau. of Lieut. Jonathan and Mrs. Mary 
Emerson, who d. July 31, 1834, aged 48 yrs. 

In memory of Lieut. Jonathan Emerson, who d. Oct. 10, 1785, aged 
41 yrs. 

16 



242 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

Mary Ann, dau. of Henry and Olive Woods, d. Oct. 12, 1853, aged 
20 yrs. and 7 mos. 

Thy memory, thou loved one, how sweet and how dear ! 
Thy virtue shall live though thy dust slumbers here. 
Till the last fleeting sun o'er my lone heart shall roll 
Shall I cherish thy worth, thou sweet friend of my soul. 

Charles J., s. of Mr. Henry and Mrs. Jerusha Woods, d. June- 14, 
1826, aged 16 ds. 

This lovely bud, so young and fair, 

Called hence by early doom, 
Just came to show how sweet a flower 
In Paradise could bloom. • 

In memor\' of Mrs. Jerusha, w. of Mr. Henry Woods, who d. March 
23, 1827, aged 27. 

No age from death can fly, 

No friends but what must part ; 

Death will dissolve the tenderest tie 

That 's formed within the heart. 

In memory of Henry Woods, who d. Nov. 2, 1833, aged 43. 
Retire, my friends, dry up your tears, 
I shall arise when Christ appears ; 
Death is the debt to mortals due, 
I 've paid the debt, and so must you. 

Sarah M., w. of Oliver Taylor, deceased March 31, 1872, age 57 yrs. 
The cloud that o'er her brow was spread 
When here below, afar has fled. 
The joys of heaven have put to flight 
The shade that veiled her spirit's light. 

Mary Ann, dau. of Cyrus W. and M. M. Taylor, d. July 22, 1853, aged 
7 wks. and 5 ds. 

Our bud, nipped by the chill blast of the Destroyer, is destined to blossom in 
fairer climes. 

Matilda J., dau. of Cyrus W. and M. M. Taylor, d. March 26, 1831, 
aged I yr. and 9 mos. 

Is it well with the child } and she answered, It is well. 

Caroline M., dau. of Cyrus W. and M. M. Taylor, d. March 30, 1848, 

aged 4 days. 

Of such is the kingdom of heaven. 

Harriet P., dau. of Cyrus W. and M. M. Taylor, d. May 23, 1845, 
aged 4 yrs., 8 mos., and 24 ds. 

Harriet, my dear, I '11 dry my tears, 

And put my trust in God, 
Convinced it is a Father's smite, 
And love that guides the rod. 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. -2^-3^ 

Bridget, dau. of Cyrus and R. B. Taylor, d. July 3, 1844, aged 27. 
There shall I bathe my weary soul 
In seas of heavenly rest. 

Rhoda, dau. of Cyrus and R. B. Taylor, d. Nov. 12, 1S44, jet. 34. 

All is well. 

JosiAH, s. of Cyrus and R. B. Taylor, d. Oct. 13, 1825, aet. 2 yrs., and 
II mos. 

Suffer little children to come unto me. 

Rhoda B., w. of Cyrus Taylor, d. March 12, 1862, aet. 78 yrs. 
Dear mother thou hast gone to thy rest, 

We miss thee, oh ! we miss thee at home. 
Thou has left us to join with the blest, 
Our dear father in his heavenly song. 

Cyrus Taylor, d. April 4, 1859, st. 74 ys. 

My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my 
portion forever. 

In memory of Wm. Richardson Taylor, s. of Oliver and Abigail 
Taylor, who d. March 28, 1797, aged 9 mos. and 15 ds. 

In memory of Mrs. Abigail Richardson, dau. of Mr. Thomas and 
Mrs. Abigail Richardson, who d. Sept. 9, 1796, in the 22d yr. of her age. 

In memory of Mrs. Susanna Taylor, dau. of Mr. Oliver and Mrs. 
Bridget Taylor, who departed this life Aug. 18, 1801, in the 27th year of 
her age. 

Rebekah Taylor, d. Dec. 29, 1856, aged 78 yrs. and 10 mos. 

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. 

In memory of Mrs. Abigail, w. of Mr. Oliver Taylor, who d. Jan. 19, 

1839, aged 75. 

As Jesus died and rose again, 

Victorious o'er the dead. 
So his disciples rise again 

With their triumphant Head. 

In memory of Mrs. Bridget Taylor, w. of Mr. Oliver Taylor, who 
d. Jan. 15, 1794, aged 47 yrs. and 4 ds. 

She lived desired and died lamented. 

In memory of Mr. Oliver Taylor, who d. Oct. 13, 1823, aged ^T. 

Our aged friend now sleeps in dust, 
No pain disturbs his peaceful breast ; 
The Saviour's call he did obey, 
And suddenly was snatched away. 



244 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

In memory of Widow Susannah, relict of Dea. Samuel Taylor, who d. 
Oct. 14, 1798, aged 85 yrs 

In memory of Dea. Samuel Taylor, who d. Oct. ye 23d, 1792, in the 
85 yr. of his age. 

In memory of Mrs. Mary Taylor, w. of Mr. Jonas Taylor, who d. 
Dec. 5, 181 5, aged 68 yrs. 

Erected in memory of Mr. Jonas Taylor, who d. Dec. 15, 1823, aged 
84 yrs. 

In memory of Hannah Taylor, dau. of Mr. Jonas Taylor and Mrs. 
Hannah his w., who d. Sept. 24, 1798, aged i yr, 9 mos., and 4 ds. 

In memory of Mr. Thomas Fletcher, who departed this life Dec. 22, 
1802, in the 64 yr. of his age. 

In memory of Miss Rebeckah, dau. of Mr. Thomas Fletcher, who d. 
Feb. 5, 1831, aged 51. 

In memory of Mrs. Rachel Fletcher, w. of Mr. Thomas Fletcher, 
who d. Oct. ID, 1 810, in the 69 yr. of her age. 

Not dead, but gone before. 

Lieut. Francis Fletcher, d. July 28, 1873, aged 84 yrs., 11 mos. 
In memory of Mrs. Hannah, w. of Lieut. Francis Fletcher, who d. 
Apr. II, 1823, in the 27th yr. of her age. 

Loveliness lies here, the tender wife, the mother dear, 
Though disease her body wore, 
Grace taught her soul to soar. 
No pain nor grief, no anxious fear nor mortal woes. 
Can reach thy peaceful slumber here, 
While angels watch thy soft repose. 
Take comfort, Christian, when your friends in Jesus fall asleep, 
Their better being never ends, then why dejected weep ? 
Why inconsolable, as those to whom no hope is given ? 
Death is the messenger of peace to call their souls to heaven. 

Rachel, dau. of Lieut. Francis Fletcher and Mrs. Hannah F. his w. 
d. Nov. 4, 1822, aged 20 mos. and 14 ds. 

Sweet prattler, gently sleep, 
Till Jesus bid thee rise. 

Sacred to the memory of Capt. Nathaniel Fletcher, d. April iS, 
1839, in the 77 yr. of his age. 

When death doth call us we must go, 
Whether we are prepared or no ; 
Life is the space which God has given 
To be prepared to meet in heaven. 

In memory of Mrs. Submit, w. of Capt. Nathaniel Fletcher, who d. 
Oct. 16, 1835, 3.ged 69 yrs. 

Canst thou by faith survey with joy 

The change before it come. 
And say, " Let death this house destroy, 
I have a heavenly home .' " 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 245 

In memory of Hannah P., dau. of Lieut Francis and Hannah Fletcher, 
who d. Oct. 15, 1842, in the 24th yr. of her age. 

She 's gone, the lovely and the loved, 

No tears or prayers her life will save, 
From scenes of earth her soul hath fled 

To rest in peace beyond the grave. 
There every tear is wiped away. 

And there is healed the stricken heart, 
There pain and death can never come, 

And there friends meet no more to part. 

In memory of Rev. Joshua Heywood, who d. Nov. 11, 1814, aged 51 

Nor pain nor grief nor anxious fear 

Invade thy bounds ; no mortal woes 
Can reach the peaceful sleeper here 

While angels watch the soft repose. 

Samuel H., s. of the Rev. Samuel H. Tolman and Rachel his w., d. 
Sept. 29, 1822, aged 9 weeks. 

Ephraim Johnson, d. March 24, 1863, aged 72 yrs. 
In memory of Mrs. Rebeckah Johnson, relict of Mr. Silas Johnson, 
who d. Oct. 19, 1823, aged 69 yrs. 

A heavenly portal is in view. 
Amid a dying hour, 
For those who view that God is love 
And heaven is a rest above. 

Sacred to the memory of Alpheus Taylor, who d. at Nashua July 25, 
1846, aged 28 yrs. 

We have loved thee on earth. 
May we meet thee in heaven. 

Samuel S., s. of Mr. Samuel W. and Mrs. Eveline Stone, d. Feb. 12, 
582S, aged 4 yrs. 

Rest, happy orphan, peaceful rest, 

Secure from sin, secure from harms. 
Thy Saviour little children blest ; 
Resigned we leave thee in his arms. 

In memory of Sally Fletcher, dau. of Mr. Phineas and Mrs. Alice 
Fletcher, who d. Nov. 5, 1798, aged 2 days. 

In memory of Sewall Fletcher, s. of Mr. Phineas and Mrs. Anna 
Fletcher, who d. May 29, 1795, in the 9ti» yr. of his age. 

In memory of Charlotte Fletcher, dau. of Mr. Phineas and Mrs. 
Anna Fletcher his w., who d. Nov. 16, 1789, aged 15 mos. 

Memento Morl — Erected in memory of Mrs. Anna Fletcher, w. 
of Mr. Phinehas Fletcher, who departed this life Oct. yc 4, 1794, in the 
32<i yr. of her age. 



246 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

Mr. PiiTNEHAS Fletcher, cU July 31, 1833, ret. 75. 

Oh, may my humble spirit stand 

Amongst them clothed in white. 
The meanest place at his right hand 

Is infinite delight. 

Alice, w. of Phinehas Fletcher, d. May 17, 185 1, aged 88. 
Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. 

Lucy, dau. of Phinehas and Alice Fletcher, d. Apr. 5, 1871, aged 69 
yrs. and 7 mos. 

In memory of Dea. Joseph Fletcher, who departed this life July ye 
17'hj A. D. 1784, aged 71 yrs. 

Retire, my friends, dry up your tears. 
Here 1 must lie till Christ appears. 

In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Fletcher, relict of Dea. Joseph 
Fletcher, who departed this life Nov. 22, 1802, in the '6c)'^ yr. of her age. 
In memory of Capt. Jonathan Fletcher, who d. March 28, 1813, 
aged 72. 

In memory of Mrs. Lucy Fletcher, w. of Capt. Jonathan Fletcher, 
who departed this life ]v\s 17, 1801, in the 6ist yr. of her age. 

In memory of PoLLY C. Lovejoy, dau. of Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Polly 
Lovejoy, who d. March i, 1797, in the 2d yr. of her age. 

In memory of Lucinda Fletcher, dau. of Mr. Joseph Fletcher and 
Mrs. Caty, his wife, who d. Dec. 4, 1796, aged i yr. and 21 ds. 

Erected in memory of Catharine Fletcher, who d. Sept. 30, 1S26, 
aged 34. 

There is a calm for those who weep; 
And while the mouldering ashes sleep 

Low in the ground, 
The soul, of origin divine, 

God's glorious image freed from clay. 
In heaven's eternal sphere shall shine, 
A star of day. 

In memory of Mrs. Caty Fletcher, w. of Mr. Joseph Fletcher, who 
d. Feb. 7, 1797, aged 42. 

Peace to those friends, those hearts, that weep, 

My dearest dear is not dead but sleeps. 

"Where angels minister around the throne, 

Her spotless, unembodied soul has flown. 

There joining in the celestial strain. 

In praising him who was, and is, and shall forever reign. 

In memory of Joseph Fletcher, who died Dec. 26, 1832, aged 81. 



1873] INSCRIFTWNS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 247 

In memory of Abigail, w. of Joseph Fletcher, who d. Dec. 5, 1838, 
aged 81. 

Here, reader, see in youth or age or prime, 
The fleeting steps of never-standing time, 
With wisdom mark the moment as it flies, 
Think what a moment is to them who dies. 

In memory of Betsy Taylor, dau. of James and Betsy Taylor, who d. 
April 20, 1 80 1, aged 9 mos. and 24 ds. 

In memory of Mrs. Betsy Taylor, w. of Dea. James Taylor, who d. 
Oct. I, 180S, in the 41st yr. of her age. 

In memory of Mrs. Abigail, w. of Dea. James Taylor, who d. March 
7, 1832, aged 61. 

Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. 

In memory of Mr. Leonard Parkhurst, who died March 28, 1821, 
aged 57. 

Farewell, dear friends, and children too, 

For Christ has called me home. 
In a short time he '11 call for you, 
Prepare yourselves to come. 

Hannah, w. of Leonard Parkhurst, d. Aug. 30, 1862, aged 93 yrs. and 
4 mos. 

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 

Sally Parkhurst, died Oct. 8, 1847, aged 45. 

By death the form to earth is given, 

And the fettered soul made free 
To change its home from earth to heaven, 

And live in immortality. 

In memory of Dea. James Taylor, who d. Oct. 25, 1847, aged 80. 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. 

In memory of Joel Parkhurst, Esq., who d. March 10, 1S08, aged 67. 

Ah ! with the slumbering dead he is numbered. 

Behold, he sleeps in lifeless clay. 
His soul, no more with dust encumbered. 

Triumphs in realms of endless day. 

In memory of Mrs. Betty Parkhurst, w. of Joel Parkhurst, Esq.) 
who d. Oct. 4, 1837, aged 93. 

Let .us be weaned from all below, 

Let hope our grief expel, 
While death invites our souls to go 

Where our best kindred dwell. 



248 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

Mrs. LuciNDA,w. of Ebenezer Parkhurst, d. Apr. 14, 1842, aged 47 yrs. 
Can'st thou by faith survey with joy 

Tiie change before it comes, 
And say, " Let death this house destroy, 

I have a heavenly home " .'' 

Ebenezer Pakkhurst, d. May 23, 1868, aged 80 yrs., 3 mos. 

Gone to rest. 

In memory of Mrs. Sally, \v, of Mr. Ebenezer Parkhurst, who d. Sept. 
15, 1827, aged 31. 

Sudden she was called to go, 

And bid adieu to all below ; 

Sudden the vital spirit fled, 

And she was numbered with the dead. 

Hannah, w. of Ebenezer Parkhurst, d. May 5, 1857, aged 86 yrs. and 
9 mos. 

She soars above in heaven to sing. 
Borne away on angels' wings. 

In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Parkhurst, w. of Mr. Eben"" Park- 
hurst. who d. Oct. 8, 1 80 1, aged 38 yrs. 

In memory of Mr. Ebenezer Parkhurst, who d. Oct. 19, 1831, aged 
70 yrs. 

Depart, my friends, dry up your tears, 
Here I must lie till Christ appears. 

Margette, dau of Eben"- and Lucinda Parkhurst, d. Dec. 15, 1831, 
aged I yr., 3 mos., & 16 ds. 

Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Caty Parkhurst, w. of Mr. Joseph 
Parkhurst, who d. Sept. 21, 1798, aged 41. 

Sacred to the memory of Mr. Joseph Parkhurst, who d. May 7, 1813, 
aged 57 years. 

Sacred to the memor}' of Miss Fanny Parkhurst, who d. Dec. 14, 
18 16, aged 30. 

In memory of Mr. Joseph, s. of Mr. Silas and Mrs. Lucy Parkhurst, 
who d. Feb. 2, 1833, aged 19 yrs. 

In memory of Miss Sally Cumings, dau. of Lieut. Simeon and Mrs. 
Sarah Cumings, who d. Feb. 29, 1816, aged 45 years. 
Sickness sore long time I bore. 

Physicians were in vain. 
Till God was pleased and death did seize 
And eased me ofmy pain. 

In memory of Jeremiah Cumings, the s. of Lieut. Simeon and Mrs. 
Sarah Cumings, who d. Sept. 27, 1792, aged 2 yrs., I mo., & i dy. 

Here lies the Body of Jeremiah, the s. of Mr. Simeon Cumings and 
Mrs. Sarah his w., who d. Jan. 8, 1776, aged 7 yrs., i mo., & 16 ds. 



1873] lASCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 249 

In memory of Rachel Cumings, dau of Mr. Simeon Cumings and 
Mrs. Sarah his w., who d. Oct. 1 1, 1778, aged 3 yrs. 

In memory of Elizabeth Cumings, dau. of Mr. Simeon Cumings 
and Mrs. Sarah his w., who d. Oct. 22, 1778, aged 5 yrs., 3 mos., 
& 16 ds. 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah Cumings, w. of Lieut. Simeon Cumings, 
who d. Nov. 17, 1 81 5, aged 69. 

Sacred to the memory of Lieut. Simeon Cumings, who d. March 23, 
181 7, aged -JT,. 

Farewell, my friends and children dear, 
Weep not for me nor shed a tear, 
But strive the better part to obtain, 
And then to die will be your gain. 

Memento Mori. — Here lies Buried the Body of Charles Scott, 
firstborn s. of Mr. Lemuel Scott and Mrs. Mary his w., who departed this 
Life Apr. 10, 1777, aged 3 yrs., i mo. & 16 dys. 

In memory of Lucy Farmer, dau. of Mr. John Farmer and Mrs. Molly 
his w., who d. Dec. ist, 1778, aged 2 yrs., 3 mos., and 22 dys. [This 
may be Turner.] 

In memory of Mrs Lucy, w. of Mr. Isaac Taylor, who d. Feb. 5, 1832, 
in her "]"] yr. 

In memory of Lydia Taylor, dau. of Mr. Isaac & Mrs. Sarah Taylor, 
who d. Aug 22, 1 79 1, aged 2 yrs. & 6 mos. 

In memory of Rachel Taylor, dau. of Mr. Isaac and Mrs. Sarah 
Taylor, who d. Nov. 12, 1803, aged 12 yrs. 

In memory of Miss Deborah Taylor, dau. of Mr. Isaac and Mrs. 
Sarah Taylor, who d. July 8, 1805, aged 22 yrs. 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah Taylor, w. of Mr. Isaac Taylor, who d. 
March 10, 1813, aged 59. 

In memory of Mrs. Easther Woodward, w. of Mr. John Woodward, 
who d. Jany- 26, 1797, aged 32 yrs. 

On this day she was born, 

On this day she was marred, 
On this day she deceast. 

Not many hours vared. 

Mrs. Mary Woodward, who d. May 19, 1805, aged 1% yrs., 5 mos., 
and 7 ds., w. of Mr. John Woodward. 



The tender bands that wedlock tics, 
]5y thee alas ! must break. 

Most kind and loving partners thou 
Dost from each other take. 



250 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

In memory of Mrs. Polly Woodward, w. of Mr. John Woodward, 
who d. Sept. 12, 1822, aged 46. 

Farewell, dear partner, children all, 
For I must go, my Jesus calls, 
Happy forever shall I be, 
I died for him who died for me. 

Andrew Sawtell, s. of Mr. John and Mrs. Rebekah Woodward, d. 
March 11, 1826, aged lymos. and 18 ds. 

His course is run, his spirit 's fled, 
Rejoins the mansions of the dead. 
He now lies cold, but still his soul 
Will live till ages cease to roll. 

In memoi'y of Mary P. Woodward, who died July ist, 1813, aged 12 
yrs. 

Youth, blooming fair, and age must die, 
And turn to dust as well as I. 

In memory of Mr. Joseph Parkmurst. who d. JanJ'- 30, 1803. aged 78. 
Also of Mrs. Deborah, w. of Mr. Joseph Parkhurst, who d. March 25, 
1 8 19, aged 76. 

In memory of Edmund, s. of Mr. Silas and Mrs. Lucy Parkhurst, who 
d. Apr. 18, 1813, aged 2 yrs., 3 mos., and 23 ds. 
Happy infant, early blest, 
And in peaceful slumber rest. 

John CHANEYd. in Dunstable, Feb. 23, 1831, aged 92. He has left a 
large circle of relatives and friends to mourn the loss of his instruction 
and example. Elizabeth, his w., d. in Charlestown, June 6, 1826, aged 66. 
Living here, tender, faithful, good, and wise, 
Dying her home 's eternal in the skies. 

ERECTED BY THEIR DAUGHTERS. 

In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Kendall, w. of Mr. Jacob Kendall, 
wlio d. 3 March, 1804, in the 71"* yr. of her age. 

In memory of Mr. Jacob Kendall, who died Feb. 25, 1809, in the 
Sot'' yr. of his age. 

In memory of Mr. John Woodward, who d. Feb. 14, 1835, '^%^^ 67. 
Here all is rest and sweet repose. 

Here all our sorrows cease. 

For Jesus meets our spirits here 

And kindly whispers peace. 

Miss Sally, dau. of Mr. John and Mrs. Mary Woodward, d. Sept. 7, 
1827, aged 22. 

In bloom of life one moment stood, 
The ne.\t called to the bar of God. 
Think, reader, can thy heart endure 
A sunmions to a bar so pure ? 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 25 1 

Rebecca, widow of the late John Woodward, d. Oct. 19, 1868, aged 74 
yrs. and 10 mos. 

With us her name shall live 

Through long succeeding years, 
Embalmed with all our hearts can give, 
Our praises and our tears. 

Andrew Jackson, s. of John and Rebecca Woodward, died Sept. 4, 
1836, aged 4 yrs. and 7 mos. 

Farewell, my little son, farewell ! 
With me thou could no longer dwell. 
I hope with thee ere long to tell 
That Jesus hath done all things well. 

In memory of Mr. Thomas Marshall, who d. Nov. 16, 181 1, aged 30. 
In memory of Mrs. Polly Marshall, who d. Feb. 5, 181 1, aged 30. 
In memory of Mrs. Mary Marshall, dau. of Mr. Silas Marshall and 
Mrs. Eunice, his w., who d. Sept. 3, 1793, in ye 21st yr. of her age. 

In memory of Hannah Kendall, relict of John Kendall, who d. April 
30, 1812, in the 84'h yr. of her age. 

In memory of Mr. John Kendall, who d. i^f^ of Feb. 1809, aged 85 
yrs., 9 mos. and 8 ds. 

Mrs. Martha, w. of Mr. Nathan Proctor, killed by falling into a cellar 
Dec. 8, 1824, aged 20 yrs. and 6 mos. 

In bloom of life one moment stood, 
The ne.xt called to the bar of God. 
Think, reader, can thy heart endure 
A summons to a bar so pure } 

Isaac Kendall, 2"fi son of Mr. Zebedee and Mrs. Molly Kendall, d. 
14'h Nov. 1804, aged 5 yrs., 3 mos., and i day. 

Isaac Kendall, s. of Dea. Zebedee and ?vlrs. Molly Kendall, d. Sept. 
12, 1798, aged 2 yrs.,' 9 mos., and 16 ds. 

In memory of two children of Dea. Zebedee and Mrs. Molly Kendall, 
Abraham, d. Jan. 14, 1786, aged 2 yrs. and 12 ds.; Hannah, d. March 
24, 1795, aged 14 mos. and 25 ds. 

Sarah Kendall, dau. of Dea. Zebedee and Mrs. Molly Kendall, d. 
10 Sept. 1798, aged 7 mos. and 15 ds. 

An infant son of Mr. Timothy and Mrs. Mary Kendall, d. Dec. i, 1825, 
aged 3 weeks. 

Timothy A., s. of Mr. Timothy and Mrs. Mary Kendall, d. Feb. 26, 
1828, aged 15 mos. and 25 ds. 

Hannah A., dau. of Timothy and Mary Kendall, d. Nov. 7, 1832, aged 
2 yrs., 3 mos., and 15 ds. 

Loved one, where is now thy rest .' 
Sweetly on thy Saviour's breast 
Dost thou now thy bliss begin, 
Freed from sorrow and from sin. 



252 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

In memory of Mrs. Molly, w. of Dea. Zebedee Kendall, who d. March 
29, 1833, aged 74 yrs. and 11 mos. 

On thy grave, lovely friend, we will drop the soft tear, 
With the hope that when Christ shall to judgment appear 
He will raise in his image thy slumbering dust, 
And conduct it to glories prepared for the just. 
There, oh ! there may we meet to be parted no more, 
And with spirits made perfect our Maker adore. 

Zebedee Kendall, d. Aug. 12, 1839, aged 84 yrs., having filled the 
office of Deacon about fifty years. 

Firm as his throne his promise stands. 

And he can well secure 
What I 've committed to his hands 

Till the decisive hour. 

In memory of two children, daughters of Mr. Leonard and Mrs. Mary 
Butterfield, Sarah, d. April 22, 1805, aged 7 weeks and 2 ds., Abigail, 
d. April 27, 1805, aged 8 weeks. 

In memory of Mary Butterfield, dau. of Mr. Leonard and Mrs. 
Mary Butterfield who d. Jan. 22, 1813, in the i6th year of her age. 

In memory of Mrs. Mary, widow of Lieut. Amaziah Swallow, who d. 
Feb. IS, 1828, aged 78. 

Mr. Asa Swallow, d. Feb. 15, 1S13, aged 45 ys. 

In the midst of life we are in death. 

Mrs. Su-SAnnah, w. of Asa Swallow, d. April 27, 1848, aged 75. 
Follow me, my children, where I have followed Christ. 

In memory of Mrs. Martha French, w. of Mr. Jonas French, who 
d. July 25, 1824, aged 39. 

Behold, the spirit of the just 
Ascends to God on high, 
And though the body sleeps in dust, 
The soul shall never die. 

Jonas French, d. Aug. 13, i860, aged 78. 

Jonas, s. of Mr. Jonas and Mrs. Martha French, d. Oct. 21, 1820, aged 
5 yrs. 

Joseph A., s. of Mr. Jonas and Mrs. Mary French, d. Jan. 31, 1827, 
aged 16 mos. 

Sarah Blood, d. Dec. 12, 1842, aged 45 yrs. 

Silas W. Blood, d. Aug. 7, 1842, aged 27 yrs. and 7 mos. 

Rebekah, widow of Silas Blood, Jr, d. April 15, 1841, aged 60 yrs. 
Erected by Ebenezer Steadman. 

Silas Blood, Jr., d. Oct. i, 181 5, aged 28 yrs. 
Erected bv Allen Blood. 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 253 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah, w. of Mr. Silas Blood, who d. Oct. 5, 1834, 
aged 75. 

There was a time, that time is past, 

When, youth, I bloomed like thee ; 
The time will come, 't is coming fast, 

When thou wilt fade like me. 
So once was I, so you must be, 
Prepare for death & follow me. 
Here I lie beneath this humble stone, 
Lifeless as a lump of clay, 
Not to rise till the resurrection day. 

In memory of Reuben Blood, s. of Mr. Silas and Mrs. Sarah his w., 
who d. Aug. 1st, 181 7, aged 17 yrs. and 5 nios. 

Sleep, sweet child, and take your rest, 
For God did call when he thought best. 
The beauteous youth is gone. 

The sweet, loved object is fled, 
Entered his long, eternal home, 
And numbered with the dead. 

In memory of Sarah Green Blood, dau. of Mr. Silas & Mrs. Sarah 
Blood, who d. Aug. ye 30th, 1794, aged 10 mos. & 11 dys. 

Lovelyness and Beauty 
Frees no age from Death. 

Mrs. Sarah, w. of Mr. Silas Blood, d. Feb. 6, 1814, aged 88. 
Walk home, my friends, dry up your tears. 
For I must lie till Christ appears. 
And when my Jesus doth me call, 
1 hope in bliss to meet you all. 

An old stone, with a part of the inscription broken off, has this admo- 
nition : — - 

Death is a Debt from nature due. 
Which I've pay'd, & so must you. 

Mary, dau. of Mr. Samuel and Mrs. Patty Kendall, d. Sept. 5, 18 12, 

aged 3 yrs. 

Sweet child no more, but seraph now, 
Before the throne behi)ld her bow ; 
Her soul, enlarged to angel's size, 
Joins in the triumphs if the skies. 

In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Simonds, who d. Mar. 6, 1805, aged 68. 

Sickness sore long time I bore. 

Physicians were in vain, 
Till God was pleased, death did cease [seize]. 

To ease me of my pain. 



2r4 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

In memory of Mrs. Anna Pratt, w. of Mr. Thomas Pratt, who d. Jan. 
I, 1806, in the 62nd yr of her age. 

In memory of Mr. Benjamin Parker, who d. Apr. 24, 1828, aged 60. 

Elizabeth, his w., d. Apr. 25, 1842, aged q}^. 

Clark Parker, Jr., d. June 4, 1849. aged 37 yrs. 

In memory of Mr. Winslow, s. of Mr. Clark and Mrs. Tamar Parker, 
who d. Nov. 14, 1833, aged 20. 

Emeline, dau. of Mr. Clark and Mrs. Lucy Parker, d. Feb. 18, 1S29, 
aged 21 mos. 

In memory of Mrs. Lucy, w. of Mr. Clark Parker, who d. June 30, 
1836, aged 49. 

Clark Parker, d July 25, 1863, aged 78 yrs. 

In memory of Rebecca, dau. of Mr. Emerson Parker and Eunice his 
w., who d. Jan. 6, 1825, aged 2 yrs. &: 8 mos. 

Stay, passenger, though dead I speak, 

You know the word conveyed. 
A thousand calls like this you 've heard, 
• But have you one obeyed .'' 

In memory of Mrs. Tamar, w. of Mr. Clark Parker, who d. Oct. 5, 
181 5, aged Zi- 

In memory of Miss NAxpy Hobbs, who d. Oct. 2, 1820, aged 44. 

Far from thy kindred thou dost gently sleep, 
Yet friendship may bedew this verdant sod, 

Religion o'er thy peaceful grave may weep, 

While Hope can view thy better part with God. 

In memory of Miss Venus Pitman, who d. Mar. 22, 1833, aged 49 \ts. 
Mr. Stephen Pratt,* who d May i, 1827, aged 42. 

Man cometh f^rth like a flower and is cut down ; he flceth also as a shadow, 
and continueth not. 

Susan P\, w. of Moses W. Crocket, and dau. of John & Sarah French, 
d. Nov. 12, 1846, aged 45. 

In memory of Mr. John H., s. of Mr. John and Mrs. Sarah French, 
who d. Apr. 3, 1831, aged 20 yrs. & 7 mos. 

Betsey Baker, d. Mar. 4, 1840, aged 74 yrs. 

Emily Baker, d. Feb. 9, 1840, aged 44. 

* Son of Thomas Pratt, who was a soldier in the Revolution, and married for 
his first wife Anna Lawrence, of Groton, by whom he had, intc7- alios, Stephen, 
who married Rebecca Blodgett, of Westford, by whom he had issue William 
Warren, b. Oct. 21, 1809; Maria, b. Aug. 12, 1811 ; Sarah Ann, b. Jan. 7, 1814; 
Martha and .Viary (twins), b. June 19, 1815 ; Nancy, b. Feb. 16, 1S19; and Eliza, 
b. Oct. 20, 1822. Mr. Stephen Pratt was by trade a joiner, having served his 
time with Mr. Asa Woods. His widow died in November, 1S60. 



1S73] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 255 

In memory of Mrs. Nabby, w. of Capt. Peter Proctor, who d. Dec. 11, 
1S20, aged 52. In memory of Capt. Peter Proctor, who d. Mar. 22, 
1 83 1, aged 55. 

In memory of Miss Sarah Proctor, who d. Oct. 14, 1828, aged 24. 

Her soul the Friend of sinners sought, 
She fo'.ind Him gracious, and His grace she taught. 
Her state was humble, but her faith was good. 
Attend, she still would point thee up to God. 

In memory of Miss Hannah Blodgett, dau. of Mr. Thaddeus and 
Mrs. Hannah Blodgett, who d. Nov. 27, 1814, aged 25 yrs., 8 mos. and 
23 ds. 

John W. Drake, d. Nov. 21, 1834, aged 36. Formerly of Mansfield, 
Mass. * 

A believer in rewards and punishments according to the deeds done in the body. 
Erected by his brother, T. G. W. Drake. 

Walter Lawrence, d. Oct 19, 1855, aged 41. 
Henry Lawrence, d. Apr. 17, 1852, aged 66. 
Bradford Read, d. July 23, 1846, aged 35 yrs. 
In memory of John Cummings, who d. Janv- 30, 1845, ^.ged 63 yrs. 
Sacred to the memory of Sarah Ellinor, w. of John A. Cummings, 
M. D., who d. May 31, 1841, aged 25. 

John Alfred Emmons, an infant s., born May 26, 1841, d. Aug. 15, 
1841. 

And there afar in yonder home of angels, 

Where sorrow's wave ne'er wrecks the bark of joy, 
Through fields of green whose verdure ne'er decayeth 
The sainted mother leads her cherub boy. 

Sacred to the memory of Rebecca Cummings, who d. Oct 24,1838,. 

aged 28. 

With a hope full of immortality, ^ 

Truly she fell asleep in Jesus. 

Sacred to the memory of Catherine C, w of Dea.' Thoinas Parker, 
who d. Eeb. 14, 1S41, aged 27. 

Dear as thou wert, and justly dear, 

We would not weej:i for thee, 

It is that thou art free. 
Gently the passmg spirit fled, 

Sustained by grace divine. 
Oh, may such grace on us be shed 

And make our end like thine ! 



2r6 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

Our Motiif.r. 
Cathekixe B., widow of the late John Cummings, d. Sept. 23, 1859, 
aged 'j^ yrs. and 8 mos. 

Mother, on earth we U)ved thee well, 

We love thy memory still, 
For thou art now a saint in heaven, 

And freed from every ill. 

Sacred to the memory of John Cummings, who d. Jany- 30, 1845, "^g^^ 

63. 

He lived desired and died lamented. 

Sarah, w. of John French, born July 18, 1781 ; d. Oct. 20, 1862. 
John French, born March 17, 1778 ; d. Apr. 16, 1861. 
Jonas Taylor, d. July 24, 1848, aged 81 yrs. 

Here sleeps our father in the silent dust, 

By all our sorrows, all our love, unmoved, 
Sleeps till the solemn summons of the just 

Bids him awake to meet the God he loved. 

ELtzABETH,dau. of Eleazer and Rebecka Miller, d. Aug. 18, 1835, aged 
9 mos. 

Georgiana C. Davis, d. Aug. 8, i860, aged 16 yrs. and 7 mos. 

The flower is of earth. 

But the perfume is from heaven. 

Isaac Chaney, d. March 26, 1866, aged 85 yrs. 
Susannah, vv. of Isaac Chaney, d. May 5, 1S47, aged 53. 

Her end was peace, an emhlem of her life. 
For all who knew her, knew her but to love. 

She was too pure for earth's unceasing strife, 
So Jt'sus called her to His home above. 

Julia A., dau of Isaac and Susannah Chaney, d. Nov. 27, 183S, aged 11 

yrs.' 

A lovely flower in this garden placed, 
Permitted just to bloom and part in haste. 

« 

Eunice B. Woodward, w. of John Woodward, d. Oct. 11, 1S65, aged 
67 yrs. and 3 mos. 

John A., s. of John and M. J. Woodward, d. Apr. 2, 1869, aged 9 mos. 
and 28 ds. 

Charles L., s. of Lowell and Maria A. Whitcomb, d. Dec. 13, 1864, 

aged 22 yrs. 

Jesus is my Saviour. 



18/3] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 257 

Temple Kendall, Esq., d. Aug. 20, 1850, aged 82 yrs., 2 mos., and 
23 ds. 

Dearest father, thou hast left us, 

Here thy loss we deeply feel. 

But 't is God that hath bereft us 

He will all our sorrows heal. 

Prudence, w. of Temple Kendall, d. Jany- 6, 1S6S, aged 94 yrs. and 5 
mos. 

Mother, thou art gone to rest, 
We will not weep for thee, 
For thou art now where oft on earth 
Thy spirit longed to be. 

Mary Ella, dan. of Lowell and Harriet P. Walton, d, Oct. 4, i860, 
aged 7 yrs., 2 mos., and 4 ds. 

Dear parents, grieve no more for me, 

My parents, grieve no more, 
Believe that I am happier far 

Than when with you before. 

Sarah L., w. of Simeon B. Lowell, d. Jan. 8, 1850, aged 27 yrs. 

Matter shall put on incorruption and be at peace with the spirit. Amen, and 
so it shall be. 

Sarah E., d. July 30, 1851, aged 6 yrs. and 3 mos. ; Rebecca C, d. 
Aug. 4, 1867, aged 3 yrs. and 4 mos., children of S. B. and Sarah L. 
Lowell. 

Hannah P., w. of Rufus K. Green, d. May 30, 1852, aged 28. 

Hannah P., dau. of Rufus K. and Hannah P. Green, d. Sept. 22, 1852, 
aged 4 mos. and 13 ds. 

Sweet babe, thy sufferings are o'er, 

God hath called thee home to rest, 
Freed from pain, sin, and sorrow. 

Gone to be forever blest. 

Sarah A., dau. of Rufus K. and Sarah A. Green, d. Oct. 12, 1S54, 
aged 6 mos. and 7 ds. 

Sweet babe, thoii germ of fondest hope. 

To us was kindly given 
To show how sweet a bud would ope 

To bloom with Christ in heaven. 

Hannah, w. of Charles Tuttle, d. March 18, 1865, aged 76. 
Mark Fletcher, d. Aug. 4, 185 1, aged 60 yrs, 
Rhoda, w. of Mark Fletcher, d. Oct. 25, 1858, aged 61 yrs. 
Nancy C, dau. of Mark and Rhoda Fletcher, d. June 27, 1833, aged 
12 yrs., 4 mos. 
17 



258 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

Mary B., w. of George W. Fletcher, d. Oct. 2, 1868, aged 41 yrs. 

Sally A., w. of Dr. S. M. Fletcher, d. at Westerly, R. I., April 20, 
1S67, aged 48 years. 

Elizabeth K., w. of Abel Spaulding, and dau. of Capt. Jonas and 
Olive Kendall, d. in New York, July 25, 1855, aged 47. 
In my Father's house are many mansions. 

O. C. R. Spaulding, w. of Rev. J. Spaulding. New York, and dau. of 
Capt. Jonas and Olive Kendall, d. March 14, 1852. aged 50. 
With Christ which is far better. — Phil, i, 23. 

Sarah Kendall, d. April 11, 1806, aged 4 weeks. 
Elmira Kendall, d. Jan. 27, 1813, aged 2 yrs. 
Olive B. Kendall, d. Sept. 15, 1856, aged 82. 
Jonas Kendall, d. Nov. 18, 1S65, aged 93. 
Caroline P. Kendall, d. Dec. 28, 1855, aged 47. 
Zebulon Blodgett, d. June 15, 1857, aged 59. 

Here lies lamented in a silent grave, 

A tender husband, parent brave. 

O king of terrors, how couldst thou destroy 

The wife's dear hope, and his children's joy .'' 

Alas ! he 's gone, and like the silent dove, 

To increase the number of the blest above. 

George E., only son of Samuel S. and Rachel Taylor, d. at Frederick, 
Md., Feb. 8, 1862, aged 20 yrs. A member of Co. H, 2d Reg. Mass. 
Vols. 

Though not upon the battle-field 

He breathed his latest breath 
For freedom and for country, 

He died a hero's death. 
Promoted from the ranks below 

To join the ranks on high. 
In bleeding hearts he loved and left. 
His name shall never die. 

Jonathan Proctor, d. Feb. 27, 1873, aged 87 yrs. & 3 mos. 
Warren W., s. of Z. P. & C. W. Proctor, d. Jan. 7, 1868, aged 12 yrs., 
4 mos., & 4 days. 
Little Mary A. 

He took little children in his arms and lilessed them. 

Albert J , s. of Amaziah and Ascnath Swallow, d. Dec. 7, 1850, aged 
22 yrs. 

How still & peaceful is the grave, 
Where life's vain tumults cease ! 
The api^ointed house, by heaven's decree, 
Receives us all at last. 



18/3] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 259 

Capt. Amaziah Swallow, d. Oct. 6, 1857, aged 70. 

Beneath this stone, till Christ shall bid him rise, 
A husband dear, a most loved father, lies. 
Yet cease to weep, 't is God, be calm & still, 
And bow in sweet submission to his will. 

AsHNATH, w. of Amaziah Swallow, d. Oct. 30, 1S65, aged 77. 

Mother. 
Yet again we hope to meet thee, 

When the day of life is fled, 
Then in heaven with joy to greet thee, 
Where no farewell tear is shed. 

Albert O., s. of Amaziah & Asenath Swallow, d. Oct. 18, 1826, aged 
3 yrs. & 10 mos. 

Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not. 

Jasper P. Proctor, d. Apr. 23, 185 1, aged 31 yrs. 

An honest man 's the noblest work of God. 

Mary Ann, dau. of Jasper P. Proctor and Mary his w., d. Sept. 25, 1822, 
aged 10 mos. 

So fades the lovely, blooming flower, 
Frail, smiling solace of an hour; 
So soon our transient comforts fly. 
And pleasure only blooms to die. 

Jasper P. Proctor, d. Sept. 19, 1865, aged 72 yrs. 
Mary B., w. of Jasper P. Proctor, d. April 11, 1866, aged 70 yrs. 
Josiah Cummings, d. Sept. 19, 1864, aged 81 years. 
Rebeccah, w. of Josiah Cummings, d. Feb. 5, 1866, aged 76 yrs. 
Rebeccah, dau. of Josiah & Rebeccah Cummings, d. Apr. 7, 181 1, aged 
9 mos. 
Josiah Spaulding, d. Nov. 18, 1857, aged 93. 
Mary, w. of Josiah Spaulding, d. Apr. 26, 1864, aged 86. 

Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. 

Laura S , w. of Benajah Parkhurst, d. Jan. 20, 1868, aged 69 yrs. & 
5 mos. 

Addison B., s. of Benajah and Laura S. Parkhurst, d. Oct. i, 1831, 
aged 3 yrs., 1 1 mos. 

Alvira L., dau of Benajah and Laura S. Parkhurst, d. May 3, 1872, 
aged 46 yrs. & 3 mos. 

Gone u]3 from human love 

To higher love and care, 
From pain below to peace above, 

In mansions, oh ! so fair. 



26o HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

Hannah Jane, dau. of Peter and Elizabeth Kendall, d Jan^- 22, 1839, 
aged 9 mos. and 3 ds. 

James M. Kendall, d. at Hartford, Conn., Dec. 12, 1854, aged 24yrs. 

A star that did in glory shine, 
The hand that made it is divine. 

Peter Kendall, d. Sept. 5, 1861, aged 67. 

My husband — our father. 

Hiram R. Kendall, d. in the U S. G. Hospital at Natchez, Miss., Nov. 
3, 1864. A member of Co. G, 8 Reg. N. H. Vols. Interred here Jany- 
30, 1866, aged 25 yrs., 6 mos. 

" The star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." 

Almira Read, w. of I. N. Wright, d. Dec. 21, 1847, aged 39 yrs. 
We shall meet again. 

Emma A. P., w. of I. N. Wright, d. May 23, 1870, aged 47 yrs. and 6 

mos. 

Thou hast the test 

That heaven itself can give thee rest. 

Harrietta A., dau. of I. N. and A. R. Wright, d. Jany- 17, 1845, aged 
3 yrs., 4 mos. 

" Of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

S1LA.S Parkmurst, d. Apr. 14, 1863, aged 'j'i yrs. and 7 mos. 

He that believelh in Me though he were dead, yet shall he live. 

Lucy, \v. of Silas Parkhurst, d. May 25, 1854, aged 66. 

Nor art nor virtue could redeem from death, 
Nor anxious love prolong the laboring breath, 
Conjugal bands asunder must be torn 
And partner and children left to mourn ; 
But let her virtues now your grief suppress, 
And wait reluctant till you meet in death. 

Maria, dau. of Silas and Lucy Parkhurst, d. July 28, 1850, aged 20, 
yrs. and 9 mos. 

Long shall thy memory be revered 

By those who knew thy worth, 
By those to whom thou wert endeared 
By the strongest ties on earth. 

Eagen, J., d. Dec. 4. 1848, aged 5 mos., 3 ds. 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 26 1 

LuciEN E., d. Sept. i, 1856, aged 16 mos., 3 ds. Children of Joel, Jr., 
and Louisa Gilson. 

Two lovely babes, so young, so fair, 

Caird home by early doom, 
Just come to show how such sweet flowers 

In Paradise could bloom. 

Dea. Thaddeus Davis, d. Jany- 10, 1863, aged 95. 
Bridget, his w., d. Janv- 26, 1826, aged 61. 

Their souls have now taken their flight 

To mansions of glory above, 
To mingle with angels of light, 

And dwell in the kingdom of love. 

Ellen, dau. of Moses and Susan Davis, d. May 9, 1858, aged 19 yrs. 

Like a fair flower in nature's wild 
So bloomed awhile this lovely child, 
But cruel death soon snatched the prize 
And bore it fragrant to the skies. 

Frances E., dau. of Moses and Susan Davis, d. Jan. 29, 1854, aged 2 
yrs. and 6 mos. 

Caleb G. Jewett, d. May 20, 1856, aged 72 yrs. 

My Father. 

Mary Ann, w. of Jacob Parkhurst, Jr., d. Aug. 6, 1857, aged 39 yrs., 

2 mos. 

Loved one, farewell, thy conflicts are o'er, 

Sin, doubt, and temptation assail thee no more, 

Thy friends- so beloved thou biddest adieu, 

While faith points them upwards with heaven in view. 

Abigail G., dau. of John and Charlotte Swallow, d. Sept. 13, 1845, 
aged 18 yrs. and 9 mos. 

The lovely and the beautiful, 
How soon they fade away! 
The hearts we love and cherish most 
First hasten to decay. 

Charles R. H., s. of John and Charlotte Swallow, member of Co. E, 
1st Wis. Vol. Cav'l'y, d. at Cape Girardeau, Mo., Oct. 12, 1862, aged 31 
yrs. 

Henry Parkhurst, d. Sept. 4, 1865, aged 72 yrs. and 2 mos. 

At rest. 

Abigail, w. of Henry Parkhurst, d. Sept. 6, 1868, aged 70 yrs. and 7 

mos. 

We go at His command. 



262 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

Wm. R., s. of Henry and Abigail Parkhurst, d. in Sacramento, Cal., 
May 20, 1852, aged 2\\ yrs. 

Fannie M., w. of John A. Parkhurst, d. April 19, 1868, aged 25 yrs. 

and 2 mos. 

We cherish sweet memories of thee. 

Gone Home. — Mary Addie, d. Nov. 29, 1861, aged 19 yrs., 11 mos., 
25 ds. ; Ellen Lizzie, d. Dec. 27, 1863, aged 18 yrs., 9 mos., and 16 
ds., children of Wm. W. and Esther W. Tenney. 

Their souls have now taken their flight 

To mansions of glory above, 
To mingle with angels of light, 

And dwell in the kingdom of love. 

Our little Mary Lizzie. 

Parted below, united above. 

Leonard Butterfield, d. Nov. 29, 1857, aged 58 (?) yrs., 9 mos. 
Man knoweth not his time. 

Gone Home. — Asa Butterfield, d. Aug. 27, 1856, aged 55. 

He is gathered to his final rest, 

We meet him here aga'n no more, 
He is sleeping on the earth's cold breast, 
Where all the cares of life are o'er. 
We hope when called from earth away 
To meet him in eternal day. 

Pamelia T., w. of Asa Butterfield, d. April 11, 1848, aged 43. 

May a., dau. of Asa and Pamelia T. Butterfield, d. April 22, 1847, 

aged 17. 

Thou wast not born to dwell on earth, 
Joys nobler, purer, were designed 
To fill thy young, immortal mind. 

Alvira, 1ST, d. Sept. 14, 1820, aged 3 yrs ; Alvira, 2D, d. July 28, 
1840, aged 17 yrs., children of James and Sibbel Swallow. 
SiBBEL, w. of James Swallow, d. Aug. 17, 1862, aged 71 yrs. 

Mother. 

Lucy A., dau. of Daniel and Rachel Richardson, d. July 27, 1856, 
aged 24 yrs. and 5 mos. 

We part to meet again. 

Frances E., dau. of Daniel and Rachel Richardson, d. Sept. 16, 1849, 
aged 2 yrs., 9 mos. 
JoKL Kkyes, born April 26, 1804, d. Aug. 11, 1867. 
Abigail, w. of Seth Nutting, d. March 2, 1867, aged 52. 



1873] INSCRIPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 263 

Charles A. Butterfield, d. Aug. 30, 1866. aged 23 yrs. 
Henry, s. of Leonard and Lucy W. Butterfield, d. July 3, 1835, ^ged 
4ds. 

At rest. 

Wm. W. Texj^ey, d. Sept. 18, 1861, aged 55 yrs. and 9 mos. 
Esther W., his wife, d. Dec. 17, 1870, aged 60 yrs., Ii mos. 
Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. ^- Rev. ii, 10. 

Harry D., s. of A. W. and M. D Howe, d. April 6, i860, aged i yr., 
7 mos. 

Sergeant Wm. W. Cummings, only son of Josiah T. and Rebecca Cum- 
mings, aged 27 yrs. and 4 mos. Member of Co. H, 1st Minnesota Regi- 
ment. He was amongst the first to respond to the President's call for 
troops to suppress the great Rebellion, and was killed while in the faith- 
ful discharge of his duty, at Poolsville, Md., Oct. 27, 1861. He died the 
death which best becomes a man who has his nation's honor near his 
heart. 

Albert C. Woods, d. Dec. 18, 1866, aged 36. 

A kind husband, an affectionate father. 

Willis H. Parkhurst, d. Oct. 9, 1871, aged 22 yrs. and 6 mos. 
Thy brother shall rise again. 

Gone Home. — Kendall Swallow, d. May 5, 1S73, aged 79 yrs., 10 
mos., and 21 ds. 

Farewell, dear Husband, Father, Friend so dear, 
Oh, how we miss you here ! 
But we hQpe to meet again. 

Lydia K., w. of Thaddeus U. Davis, d. May 13, 1871, aged 40 (?) yrs., 

1 1 mos. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

Abbie L., dau. of T. U. and L. K. Davis, d. Sept. 25, 1 851, aged 3 yrs., 
9 mos. Also th6ir twin babes. 

Thy will, O God, be done. 

Mary Ann, w. of Isaac Kendall, d. July 5, 1870, aged 46 yrs. 

Mother. 

Hannah Taylor, d. May 24, 1849, aged 81 yrs. 

Look, children dear, upon this hallowed stone, 

We stand upon a spot of love and fear, 
For there is laid a heart, the fondest one 

That ever left its children weeping here. 

Y. Taylor, d. in Boston, Aug. 5, 1847, aged 48 yrs. 



264 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

Alpheus Bowers, d. Oct. 30, 1858, aged 51. Julia A., his w.,d. Sept. 
IS, 1855, aged 46. 

Children of Alpheus and Julia A. Bowers. Eliza, d. Dec. 25, 1850, 
aged 16 yrs. Joseph A.,d. Dec. i, 1 841, aged 11 mos. Died in Chelms- 
ford. 

Father — Mother. Eliza, Adelaide, JoseA. 

Zerviah, w. of Truman Gile, d. Jany- 10, 1852, aged 75. 

JosiAH Kendall, d. July 31, 1850, aged 81. 

Betsev, w. of Josiah Kendall, d. July 7, 1855, aged 82 yrs. 

Ann M., w. of Nathaniel C. Kendall, d. Sept. 28, 1857, aged 46. 

Grieve not, kind partner, while I sleep 

Far from thy lonely home, 
Thee and thy friends may Jesus keep. 

Till thy own last change come. 

Sarah Jane, dau. of Alvah and Mary W. Kendall, d. Dec. 10, 1844, 
aged 4 yrs., 3 mos. 

Harriet L.,dau. of Alvah and Mary W. Kendall, d. June 7, 1846, aged 
I day. 

Gilman, s. of John and Rachel Kendall, d. Nov. 11, 1847, aged 20 yrs. 

Samuel Raddin, d. June 20, 1853, aged 52. 

John, d. Oct. 27, 1846, aged 6 yrs,, 5 mos. Isabel, d. Aug. 30, 1850, 
aged 2 yrs., 3 mos. 

Samuel H., d. June 27, 1851, aged 7 yrs , 10 mos. Children of Samuel 
and Rebecca Raddin. 

Frances E., v^r. of Andrew Williams, d. Sept. i, 1856, aged 22 yrs. 

Martha J., d. Feb. 13, i860, aged 23 yrs., 10 mos. 

Augusta A., d. May 30, i860, aged 23 yrs.', 2 mos. Daughters of 
Samuel- and Rebecca Raddin. 

Cummings Woods, d. Apr. 6, 1850, aged 51. 

Polly Woods, w. of Asa Woods, d. Aug. 12, 1851, aged "jT)- Asa 
Woods, d. Oct. 18, 1870, aged 93 yrs., ii mos, 

Man is like to vanity ; his days are like a shadow that passeth away. 

John Raddin, d. Oct. 27, i860, aged 85 yrs. and 8 mos. Hannah Copp, 
his w., d. Nov. 29, 1859, aged 86 yrs., 10 ds. Natives of Saugus, Mass. 
Miss Jane, dau. of Mr. Phineas and Mrs. Alice Fletcher, d. March 22, 
1834, aged 30. 

Oh, why should bliss dej^art in haste, 

And friendship stay to mourn ; 
Why the fond passion cling so fast 
When every joy is gone ? 

Charles Blood, d. Sept. 2, 1851, aged 48. 



1873] INSCI^IPTIONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 265 

Ebenezer, s. of Mr. Ebenezer and Mrs. Betsey Steadman, d. Oct. 8, 
1832, aged 18 nios. 

This lovely bud was reared, 

And blighted in its bloom. 
God has a sovereign right to call 

His children ere 't is noon. 

Infant dau. of Varniim & Mary D. Woods, d. Aug. 16, 1843, 'igcd 5 
weeks. 

Infant s. of Varnum «S: Mary D. Woods, d. Oct. 26, 1845, aged 7 
weeks. 

Infant dau. of Varnum & Mary D. Woods, d. Feb. 9, 1847, aged 6 
weeks. 

Asa Emerson, s. of Varnum & Mary D. Woods, d. Aug. 23, 1847, 
aged 7 yrs. 

Wm. Woods, d. March 12, 1859, aged 75. 

Betsy, w. of Wm. Woods, d. Nov. 20, 1852, aged 65. 

Louisa, d. Aug. 10, 1S32, aged 21 yrs. Sarah Ann, d. Aug. 20, 1832, 
aged 6 mos. & 12 dys. Daughters of Mr. Wm. & Mrs. Betsey Woods. 

Dear parents, check those heaving sighs, 

Look not upon our lowly bed, 
Up to thy Saviour raise thine eyes. 

And see us in his bosom laid. 

Charlotte, w. of Isaac Woods, d. Dec. 11, 1843, aged 69. 

Lo ! where the silent willow weeps 
A partner, friend, and mother sleeps, 
A heart within whose sacred cell. 
The peaceful virtues lov'd to dwell. 

Isaac Woods, d. Feb. 21, 1849, aged 74. 

Elbridge Butman, d. Oct. 29, 1839, aged 29. George E., d. Sept. 5, 
1834, aged 5 mos., 9 ds. Susan M., d. Apr. 20, 1837, aged 15 mos. 
Alvin, d. Apr. 2, 1838, aged 5 mos., 13 dys. Children of Elbridge & 
Susan Butman. 

Alpha Butman, d. Nov. 17, 1866, aged 27 yrs. & 10 mos. 

We'll meet again, where "all looks bright," 
Where golden portals ope, and angels 
Stand ready to let us in. 

Sarah Ann, dau, of Micha E. & Eliza Robbins, d. Sept. 9, 1848, aged 
3 yrs., 3 mos. 

One sweet flower has bloomed and faded, 

One dear infant voice has lied, 
One sweet bud the grave has shaded. 
Our loved Sarah now is dead. 



266 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

In Heaven there is Rest. — Cynthia Robbins, d. Sept. 28, 1861, 
aged 55 yrs., 6 mos. 

The Christian's death is but a birth 

To holier, happier life ; 
We would not call thee back to life, 
To share again its strife. 

In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth, w. of Mr. Benjamin Robbins, who d. 
July 27, 1832, aged 70. 

Thy ways, O King of kings, are just, 
Both when we live, and turn to dust ; 
Then cease from man, look up on high, 
And i^lace your hopes above the sky. 

Sophronia Swallow, d. July 8, 1854, aged 55 yrs., 5 mos. 
She has gone, her sufferings all are o'er. 
Disease and pain are known no more ; 
Freed from earth's delusions fair. 
She is forever happy there. / 

John F., s. of John & Sarah S. Blodgett, d. May 20, 1841, aged 3 yrs. 

& 4 mos. 

Our little boy has gone 

To rest in heaven above. 
We feel that he is not alone, — 
He dwells with God in love. 

Sarah S., w. of John Blodgett, d. May 8, 1842, aged 40. 
Matilda A., dau. of John & Sarah S. Blodgett, d. Sept. 20, 1861, aged 
15 yrs., 1 1 mos. 

Parents, brothers, sisters, do not weep, 
I am not dead, but only sleep. 
I have left the world's delusive charms, 
And gone to rest in Jesus' arms. 

Erected in memory of Mr. Edward Dunn, who d. May 12, 1816, 

aged 56. 

Time was when, like thee, I life possessed, 
And time will be when thou shalt rest. 

In memory of Mrs. Anna, w. of Mr. Edward Dunn, who d. Nov. 10, 

1 83 1, aged 66. 

Time is winging us away 

To our eternal home ; 
Life is but a winter's day, 

A journey to the tomb. 

Wm. Dunn, d. Dec. 15, 1865, aged 78 years. Sally, w. of Wm. 
Dunn, d. April 2, 1867, aged Ti yrs., 6 mos. 



1873] INSCRimONS. CENTRAL CEMETERY. 267 

Nancy Mitchell, d. Mar. 31, 1867, aged tj yrs., 6 mos. 
Sacred to the memory of Lieut. Paul Thorndike, who d. Nov. 9, 
A. D. 181 5, in the 74th year of his age. 

Here lies the flesh unconscious, here confined, 
But far, far distant dwells the immortal mind. 

Erected in memory of Mrs. Olive Thorndike, who d. Apr. 23, 1816, 
aged 67. 

Dry up your tears, surviving friends. 
Weep not not for me, but for your sins ; 
Die to the world, live unto God, 
The grave will soon be your abode. 

Jonathan Woodward, d. Dec. 24, 1S40, aged loi yrs., 7 mos., & 
13 dys. 

The patriot is gone, his cares on earth are o'er ; 
He lived to see one hundred yr's and more, 
His spirit is gone to Him that gave it birth, 
His body is left to moulder in the earth. 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah, w. of Mr. Jonathan Woodward, who d. Feb. 
28, 1829, aged 80. 
Jonathan Woodward, Jr., died Nov. 7, 1848, aged ■]■>,. 
Sally, w. of Jonathan Woodward, Jr., d. Oct. 24, i860, aged 83. 
Leonard Parkhurst, d. July 17, 1861, aged 61 yrs. 

He hath gone to Him who doeth all things well. 

In memory of Mrs. Louisa, w. of Mr, Leonard Parkhurst, who d. Nov. 
9, 1834, aged 21. 

Frances M., only dau. of Thomas and Matilda Chaney, d. Jan. 31, 
1845, aged 5 yrs. and 7 mos. 

A daughter & a sister dear 

Lies cold in death and slumber here, 

Beloved, affectionate, and kind, 

Now gone a home with Christ to find. 

Matilda, w. of Thomas F. Chaney, d. March 15, 1847, aged 36. 

In life she was gentle & happy & kind, 

No sorrows nor doubts did her bosom inthrall, 

In death she was calm & serene & resigned, 
Still trusting in God as the Saviour of all. 

Fanny P., w. of Thomas F. Chaney, d. June 2, i860, aged 41 yrs. 

I have loved thee on earth, 
May I meet thee in heaven, 



268 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

John Blodgett, Esq., d. Apr. 29, 1847, aged 97. 
It is the hope, the blissful hope, 

Which Jesus' grace has given; 
The hope, when da^s and years are past. 

We all shall meet in heaven. 

A memorial of Mary, dau. of John & Mary Blodgett, who d. Nov. 23, 
1841, aged 2>1 yrs. 

Yes, we hope thou art gone to rest 

In the glorious realms above, 
Where now like angels thou art blest. 
The object of eternal love. 

Harriet, dau. of Betsey and Edmund Page, Esq., d. Jan. 4, 1845, 
aged 22. 

Mahala a., w. of G. T. Blodgett, d. Jan. 7, 1849, aged 25. 

Abby M., w. of G. T. Blodgett, d. Apr. 9, i860, aged 29. 

Mary A., dau. of G. T. & A. M. Blodgett, d. Sept. 2, i860, aged 3. 

Col. Frederic Blodgett, d. Oct. 27, 1837, aged 62. 

Hannah, w. of Col. Frederic Blodgett, d. Oct. 8, 1857, aged 76. 

The following list of deaths was copied from Dunstable 
records by Temple Kendall, town clerk, and recopied by Miss 
Hannah M. Parkhurst : — 

John Woodward, d. July 18, 1753 ; John Steel, d. Aug. 18, 1760 ; Ebcn- 
ezer Parkhurst, d. June 13, 1757; Lt. John French, d. Mar. 15, 1761 ; 
Hannah, w. of Ebenr. Kendall, d. Feb. 10, 1761 ; Sarah, w. of Ebenr. 
French, d. May 22, 1767; Dea. Joseph Fletcher, d. July 17, 1784; Lt. 
Jona. Emerson, d. Nov. 11, 1785; Dea. Saml. Taylor, d. Oct. 23, 1792, 
jet. 85 ; Dr. Ebenr. Starr, d. Sept. 7, 1798 ; Widow Susannah Taylor, d. 
Oct. 14, 1798 ; Widow Elizabeth Proctor, d. Jan. 12, 1799 ; Widow Sarah 
Swallow, d. Jan. 20, 1799; Timothy Read, d. Apr. 26, 1799, in his 86th 
yr. ; Josiah Woodbury, d. May 14, 1799 ; Widow Deborah Whitemore, d. 
Aug. 2. 1799 ; Betty, w. of Jonas French, d. Oct. 8, 1799 ; Samuel Roby, 
d. Nov. 3, 1799, in his 52d yr. ; Abraham Kendall, d. Nov. 14, 1799; 
Miriam, w. of Moses Hardy, d. July 20, 1800; Hannah, w. of David 
Taylor, d. Oct. 23, 1800, in her 82d yr. ; Capt. Leonard Butterfield, d. 
Nov. 17, 1800 ; Mary, w. of Capt. Philip Butterfield, d. Jan. 16, 1801, in 
her 43d year ; Lucy, w. of Capt. Joseph Fletcher, d. July 17, 1801 ; Sarah, 
w. of Capt. Joel Cummings, d. Jan. 26, 1802, aged 39; Elizabeth, w. of 
Ebenr. Parkhurst, d. Oct. 8, 1801 ; Widow Elizabeth Fletcher, d. Nov. 
23, 1802, in her 9Sth yr. ; Thos. Fletcher, d. Dec. 22, 1802, in his 65th 
yr. ; Joseph Parkhurst, d. Jan. 31, 1803; Lt. Amaziah Swallow, d. Jan. 
21, 1803; Elizabeth, w. of Jacob Kendall, d. Nov. 3, 1804; Josiah War- 
ren Blodgett, d. June 20, 1805 ; Josiah Blodgett, d. July 14, 1805 ; Widow 



1873] RECORD OF DEATHS. 260 

Jane Kendall, d. Apr. 29, 1806; Sarah, w. of Edward Kendall, d. Dec. 
16, 1806 ; Capt. Saml. Stevens, d. Dec. 10, 1805 ; Widow Tabitha Stevens, 
d. Mar. 16, 1807 ; Widow Catharine Cummings, d. Nov. 4, 1807 ; Ebenr. 
French, d. Apr. 4, 180S ; Widow_Abigail PVench, d. July 9, 1808 ; Betsy, 
w. of James Taylor, d. Oct. i, 1808 ; Rebecca, w. of Nathl. Cummings, 
d. Oct. 13, 1808; Joel Parkhurst, Esq., d. Nov. 10, 1808; Widow Susan 
French, d. Dec. 27, 1808; John Kendall, d. Feb. 13, 1S09; Jacob Ken- 
dall, d. Feb. 25, 1809 ; Caleb Woods, Jr., d. Mar. i, 1809 ; Widow Deb- 
orah Parkhurst, d. March 27, 1809; Henry Farwell Woods, d. Apr. 9, 
1809; David Taylor, d. Dec. 15, 1809; Capt. Oliver Cummings, d. Aug. 
15, 1810, aged 83; Widow Rachel Fletcher, d. Oct. 10, 1810 ; Jemima, 
widow of Josiah Blodgett, d. Nov. 24, 1810 ; Eleazer Read, d. Aug. 10, 

181 1 ; Hannah, widow of John Kendall, d. April 30, 1812 ; Sarah, w. of 
Moses Hardy, d. Aug. 9, 1812 ; Elizabeth, w. of Saml. Roby, d. Oct. 19, 

1812 ; Benj. Marshall, d. Nov. 24, 1812; Sybil, widow of Capt. Oliver 
Cummings, d. Dec. 16, 181 2. 

[For the names of those who died in 1813 see page 166.] 
Sarah, widow of Caleb Blood, d. Feb. 6, 1814; Moses Hardy, d. Apr. 
9, 1814; Rebeckah, dau. of Josiah Cummings, d. Aug. 9, 1814 ; Abigail, 
dau. of Joseph Parkhurst, d. Sept. 10, 1814; Silas Johnson, d. Oct. 8, 
1814; Rev. Joshua Heywood, d. Nov. 11, 1814; George, s. of Isaac 
Woods, d. Feb. 11, 1S15 ; Amos, s. of Gershom Proctor, d. Apr. 27, 
1815; Taniar, w. of Clark Parker, d. Oct. 5, 1815; Silas Blood, Jr., d. 
Oct. 5, 1 81 5, aged 28 yrs. & 7 mos. ; Lieut. Paul Thorndike, d. Nov. 9, 
181 5, aged "Ji yrs. ; Sarah, w. of Lieut. Simeon Cummings, d. Nov. 17, 
1815 ; Abijah, s. of Abijah Swallow, d. Feb. 26, 1816, aged 2 mos. ; 
Sally, dau. of Lieut. Simeon Cummings, d. Feb. 29, 1816, aged 45 yrs. ; 
Rebeckah, dau. of Caleb Blood, d. Mar. 24, 1816 ; Leonard Brown, a 
State pauper, d. Mar. 26, 1816; Olive, widow of Lieut. Paul Thorn- 
dike, d. May i, 1816; Edward Dunn, d. May 12, i8r6, aged 56 yrs. ; 
Jonathan, s. of Jonathan Swallow, d. June 29, 1816; Rachel, w. of O. 
Hartwell, d. July 11, 1816, aged 49 yrs. ; Eunice, w. of Jonas Woods, 
d. Sept. 27, 1816, aged 24 yrs. ; Esther, widow of Nathaniel Cummings, 
d. Nov. 23, 1816, aged 49 yrs. ; Fanny, dau. of Joseph Parkhurst, d. Dec, 
14. 1816, aged 30 yrs. ; Rebeckah, w. of Abijah Swallow, d. Jan. 14, 1817, 
aged 22 yrs. 9 mos. ; Olive, widow of Capt. Leonard Butterfield, d. Jan. 
26, 1817; Dorothy Robbins, d. Feb. 5, 1817 ; Mary Dandridge, dau. of 
John French, d. Feb 13, 181 7 ; Roxana, dau. of Jonathan Emerson, d. 
Feb. 21, 1817; Betsy Robbins, d. June 22, 1817 ; Jonathan, s. of Peabody 
Keyes. d. Oct. — , 1818 ; Andrew Temple, s. of Temple Kendall, d. Dec. 
21, 1818, aged 5 mos. ; Abigail, w. of Lieut. Temple Kendall, d. June i, 
1820, aged 85 yrs. ; Joanna, w. of Benj. Swallow, d. Nov. 22, 1820, agecj 
83 yrs.; Benj. Swallow, d. Jan. 11, 1821, aged 84 yrs. ; Leonard Park- 
hurst, d. Mar. 28, 1821, aged 58 yrs. ; George Parker, s. of George 
Wright, d. Apr. 16, 1821, aged 14 yrs. ; Lucy Damon, d. June 15, 1821, 



2/0 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1873 



aged 20 yrs ; Jesse Blood, d. Sept. 2. 1821 ; Nancy Hobbs, d. Oct. 2, 
1821 ; Emeline, dau. of Willard Robbins, d. Oct. 5, 1821, aged 8 yrs. ; 
Elsie, dau of Davis Chapman, d. Jan. 25, 1822, aged 7 yrs. ; Lieut. Temple 
Kendall d Mar. 6, 1822, in his 91st yr. ; Caleb Woods, d. Aug. 13, 1822, 
in his 86th yr. ; Mary Ann, dau. of Jasper P. Proctor, d. Sept. 23, 1822 ; 
Samuel Howe, s. of Rev. Samuel H. Tolman, d. Sept. 30, 1822; Rachel 
Submit, dau. of Lieut. Francis Fletcher, d. Nov. 24, 1822 ; Elijah Robbins, 
d. Dec. 1, 1822 ; Albert, s. of Elijah Robbins, d. Jan. 21, 1823 ; Hannah, w. 
of Lieut. Francis Fletcher, d. Apr. 11. 1823 ; Elizabeth, widovk^of Benjamin 
Marshall, d. Aug. 13, 1823 ; Oliver Taylor, d. Oct. 13, 1823, aged ']'] yrs. ; 
Rebeckah, widow of Silas Johnson, d. Oct. 19, 1823 ; Jonas Jewett, s of 
Jonas French, d. Oct. 21, 1823 ; Rhoda, widow of Ens. Samuel Fletcher, 
d. Feb. 13, 1824, aged 54; Martha, w. of Jonas French, Jr., d. July 25, 
1824; Rebeckah, dau. of Emerson Parker, d. Jan. 6, 1825, in her 3d yr. ; 
Alice Powers, d. Feb. 13, 1825, aged 88 yrs. ; Lydia, widow of Abel 
Spaulding, d. Mar. 10, 1825, aged 83 yrs. 

The following record of births* in Dunstable was copied from 
the books of the town by Temple Kendall, a former town 
clerk : — 

Children of Adford and Maroet Jaquith : — Marget, b. Feb. 14, 
1736; Mary, b. Nov. 25, '38; Sarah, b. May 11, '41 ; Abigail, b. Aug. 
20, '43 ; John, b. May 4, '46; Adford, b. Oct. 16, '48 ; Benjamin, Sept. 9, 
'50; Hannah, b. Sept. 28, '52 ; Elizabeth, b. June 10, '55; Rebeccah, b. 
May 5, '59. 

Children of Ebenezer and Sarah Parkhurst : — Joseph, b. Aug. 
30, 1724; Ebenezer, b. Jan. 20, '28 ; Sarah, b. Feb. 21, '30; Mary, b. 
May 3, 'zz ; Silas, b. Sept. i, 'y] ; Joel, b. Aug. 13, '41. 

Children of Ebenezer and Sarah Butterfield : — Ebenezer, b. 
Jan. 26, 1732 ; Samuel, b. Feb. 24, '38 ; Leonard, b. Nov. 17, '40 ; Jonas, 
b. Sept. 12, '42 ; Sarah, b. June 23, '46 ; Mary, b. Oct. 3, '48; Jesse, b. 
Apr. 28, '52 ; Philip, b. Oct. 8, '57. 

Childken of Ebenezer and Hannah Kendall: — Asa, b. Mar. 
16, 1735; Ebenezer, b. Oct. 5, '36; Abraham, b. Feb. 17, '39; Hannah, 
b. Oct. 13, '41 ; Molly, b. Apr. 9, '44; Abraham, b. Nov. 29, '47 ; Wil- 
liam, b. Oct. 9, '50 ; Hezekiah, b. Apr. 14, '53 ; Abraham, b. Apr. 12, 
'56 ; Joseph Hasey, b. Dec. i, '59 ; Lsaac, b. Jan. 29, '63. 

Children of John and Mary French : — William, b. July 2, 1752 ; 
Mary, b Mar. 21, '54 ; John, b. Oct. 25, '55 ; Jonas, b. Aug. 17, '57. 



* The reader will notice the large number of children in the families, and will 
naturally inquire why it is not so at present. Is the blood of the Pilgrims to 
become extinct .'' 



18731 



BIRTHS IN DUNSTABLE. 



271 



Children of Josiah and Jemima Blodgett : — Josiah, b. Nov. 
28, 1737 ; William, b. Jan. 25, '38 ; Jonathan, b. May 16, '43; David, b. 
Dec. 16, '44: Bridget, b. Dec. 31, '46; Jacob, b. Jan. 8, '48; John, b. 
Feb. I, '50; Zebulon, b. Jan. 29, '53 ; .Sarah, b. Apr. 13, '55; Lydia, b. 
Oct. I, '58 ; Jemima, b. Feb. 8, '60 ; William, b. March 3, '62 ; Abigail, 
b. Sept. 4, '64. 




HO.MESTEAD OF THE BLODGETT FAMILY. 



Children of Josiah and Olive Blodgett : — Ezra, b. July 9, 1763 ; 
Thaddeus, b. June 8, '67; Frederick, b. Oct. 17, '75 ; Josiah Warren, b. 
Nov. 9, '79. 

Children of Samuel and Susannah Taylor : — Samuel, b. Oct. 
I3> 1734 ; Reuben, b. Mar. 8, '36 ; Susannah, b. Nov. 28, '37 ; Jonas, b. 
Nov. 30, '39 ; Lucy, b. Apr. 4, '42 ; Thaddeus, b. Apr. 10, '44 ; Oliver, 
b. June I, '46 ; Rachel, b. May 11, '48 ; Mary, b. Jan. 17, '49 ; Isaac, b. 
June 13, '53 ; Samuel, b. Mar. 20, '56. 

Children of Joseph and Deborah Parkhurst : — Sarah, b. May 
14, 1753 ; Joseph, b. Apr. 16, '56 ; Mary, b. Aug. 21, '58; Ebenczcr, b. 
May 5, '61 ; Esther, b. Aug. 10. '64. 

Children of Leonard and Joanna Butterfield : — Sarah, b. Feb. 
26, 1768. 

By his second wife, Olive: — Leonard, b. Feb. 28, 1772; Olive, b. 
Apr. 19, 'JT, ; John, b. Dec. I, '76 ; Sarah, b. May 5, '79; Catharine, b. 
Jan. 18, '81. 

Children of John and Hannah Kendall: — Hannah, b. Aug. 29, 



272 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

1747 ; John, b. Feb. 6, '49 ; the twins, b. and d. July 7, '50 ; Deborah, b. 
May 13, '51 ; Relief, b. May 9, '53; Zebedee, b. June 6, '55; Alice, b. 
May 10, '57, 

Children of David and Hannah Taylor : — Hannah, b. May 23, 
1753 ; Sybil, b. Apr. 9, '55 ; Catharine, b. Sept. 3, '57 ; Olive, b. Nov. 9, 
'60 ; Sarah, b. Jan. 9, '64. 

Children of the Rev. Josiah and Elizabeth Goodhue : — Josiah, 
b. Jan. 17, 1759; Joseph, b. Sept. 16, '62; Elizabeth, b. Apr. 5, '65; 
Ebenezer, b. Aug. 12, '67 ; Samuel Bartlett, b. Feb. 22, '70. 

Children of Temple and Abigail Kendall : — Abigail, b. Mar. 

19, 1758; Elizabeth, b. Feb. 8, '60 ; Isaac, b. Jan. 9, '62 ; Zimri, b. Sept. 

20, '63 ; Nathaniel, b. Feb. 22, '66 ; Temple, b. May 28, '68 ; Rhoda, b. 
Apr. 6, '70 ; Olive, b. Sept. 25, '72 ; Jeremiah, b. Aug. 28, '74 ; James, b. 
Oct. 26, '78. 

Children of Jacob and Elizabeth Kendall : — Jacob, b. March 
30, 1762 ; Elizabeth, b. ; Susannah, b. ; Esther, b. ; Ben- 
jamin, b. ^ Jonas, b. Sept. 16, 1772. 

"^ Children of Edward Kf:ndall [brother of the above] and his w. 
Sarah : — John, b. Feb. 5, 1763 ; Sarah, b. June 8, '65 ; Anna, b. Jan. 8, 
'68; Josiah, b Oct. 16, '69 ; Ezra. b. Mar. 14, '72; David, Oct. 31, '73; 
Deborah, b. Jan. 2, '76 ; Lucy, b. Mar. 12, '78. 

Children of Elijah and Lucv Robbins : — Lucy, b. Sept. 8, 1760 ; 
Betsy, b. Sept. 19, '61 ; Elijah, b. Aug. i, '63 ; Jotham, b. May 5, '65 ; 

Willard, b. Mar. 9, '68 ; Henry, b. Oct. 14, '71 ; Mary, b. ; Khoda, 

b. Sept. II, '-]},. 

'- Children of Asa and Sarah Kendall ; — Sarah, b. Sept. 4, 1760 ; 

Asa, b. May 27, '62 ; Catharine, b. Apr. 28, '64 ; Benjamin, b. Nov. 27, 

'65 ; Mary, b. Dec. 29, '66; Pierpont, b. ; Oliver, b. ; Joseph, 

b. Aug. 17, 1775. 

Children of Thomas and Rachel Fletcher : — Thomas, b. Mar. 
19, 1762; Nathaniel, b. Feb. 5, '64; Rachel, b. Oct. 28, '65; David, b. 
Nov. 6, '67 ; Elizabeth, b. Nov. 8, '69 ; Rebeckah, b. Nov. 30, '71, d. Apr. 

5, '85 ; Francis, b. July 27, ''tj., d. Oct. 7, '78 ; Rebeckah, b. Aug. 7, '79 ; 
Patty, b. 26, '81 ; Francis, b. 20, '88. 

Children of Joel Parkhurst and wife Betty : — Leonard, b. 
Aug. 4, 1763; William, b. Sept. 12, '65 ; Bett}^, b. Jan. 21, '68 ; Catharine, 
b. Mar. 14, '70 ; Lucy, b. Aug. 16, ^ii; Rebeckah, b. Aug. 15, '75. 

Children of Amaziah and Elizabeth Swallow : — Elizabeth, b. 
May 18, 1760 ; Rebeckah, b. Dec. 4, '63, d. Aug. 17, '65 ; Ruth, b. July 

22, '65 ; Asa, b. May i, '67 ; Rebeckah, b. ; Abraham, b. Dec. 14, 

'70; Deborah, b. Dec. 14, '73 ; Kendall, b. Apr. 2, '75 ; Mary, b. Dec. 30, 
'77. 

Child of Jonathan and Hannah Emekson : — Jonathan, b. Jan. 

6, 1773- 



1873] BTRTHS IN DUNSTABLE. 2/3 

Children of Abel and Susannah Spaulding : — Joel, b. Dec. 13, 
1 761 ; Josiah, b. Feb. 27, '64. 

By his wife Lydia : — Susannah, b. Oct. i, 1768; Lydia, b. Mar. 22, 
'70 ; Sarah, b. June 19, ""TJ ; Tamer, b. Oct. 29/79 ; Abel, b. Apr. 28, '83. 

Child of Ebenezer and Sarah French : — Sarah, b. May 6, 
1767 

By his wife Susannah : — Charlotte, b. Aug. 13, 1774 ; John, b. Mar. 
15. '78. 

Children of Peter and Prudence Swallow : — Nahum, b. June 

23, 1771 ; Prudence, b. July 26, ^T-}, ; Larnard, b. July 30, '75 ; Sarah, b. 
Feb. 17, '80. 

By his wife Sybil : — Archelaus, b. Jan. 10, 1784 ; James, b. Oct. 23, 
'85 ; Lucy, b. Nov. 10, '"^■] ; Moody, b. Nov. 5, '89; Abigail, b. Aug. 19, 
'92. 

Children of Ebenezer, Jr., and Sarah Proctor: — Molly, b. 
Nov. 28, 1768 ; Cata, b. Apr. 26, '70 ; Sarah, b. Sept. 4, '71. 

Children of Benjamin and Joanna Swallow: — David, b. Nov. 
5, 1771 ; Joanna, b. Jan. 3, '75 ; Joanna, b. Sept. 22, '81. 

Children of Jonas and Esther Butterfield : — Rebecca, b. 
Oct. I, 1768; Jonas, b. May 24, '73; Esther, b. Apr. 12, '78; John, b. 
Apr. 16, '80. 

Children of Robert and Jenny Dunn: — Mary, b. Sept. 25, 
1772 ; Rachel, b. Apr. 11, '75. 

Children of Samuel and Elizabeth Roby : — Samuel, b. Jan. 10, 
^ITh'} Joseph \V., b. Oct. 22, '74; Charles, b. Aug. 7, '82; Ralph, b. 
Aug. 24, '85 ; John Swallow, b. Apr. 2, '87 ; Reuel, b. Oct. 20, '88. 

Children of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Butterfield : — Eliza- 
beth, b. Jan. 20, 1763 ; Reuben, b. Dec. 29, '64 ; Joseph, b. July 10, '68 ; 
Mary, b. Aug. 8, '70; Sarah, b. Sept. 17, '72. 

Children of Jonas and Mary Taylor: — Jonas, b. , ; 

Danforth, b. Oct. 30, 1769 ; Mary, b. May 26, '73 ; Abigail, b. Feb. 12, 
'75 ; Abigail, b. May 30, '80 ; Jacob, b. Jan. 16, '83. 

Children of Joseph Jr., and Cate Fletcher : — Molly Cumings, 
b. Sept. 15, 1775 ; Isaac, b. Nov, 23, '84 ; Elizabeth Underwood, b. Feb. 

24, '90 ; Caty, b. May 6, '92 ; Lucinda, b. Nov. 26, '95. 
By his wife Abigail : — Joseph, b. Sept. 14, 1798. 

Children of Oliver and Bridget Taylor : — James, b. Nov. 2, 
1767 ; Oliver, b. Aug. 9. '70 ; William, b. Sept. 22, '72 ; Susanna, b. July 
14, '75 ; Rebekah, b. Feb. 20, '78 ; Josiah, b. March 5, '81 ; Cyrus, b. 
Apr. I, '85. 

By his wife Abigail: — William Richardson, b. June 13, 1796; Abi- 
gail, b. Jan. 20, '98. 

Children of Joseph and Sybil Spaulding: — Benajah, b. July 3, 
1766 ; Rhoda, b. June 22, '68 ; Squire, b. July 5, '71. 

By his wife Agnes : — Squire, b. Oct. 26, 1799. 
18 



274 ^^^^ ^'^^^ Y OF D UNS TABLE. [ 1 8 7 3 

Chilorkn of Simeon and Sarah Cummtngs : — Simeon, b. Sept. 
i8, 1766; Jeremiah, b. Nov. 23, '68; Sarah, b. Feb. 20, '71 ; Elizabeth, 
b. July 6, '72,; Rachel, b. Oct. 10, '75 ; Polly, b. June 18, '78; Betty, b. 
Dec. 9, '80 ; Rachel, b. Apr. 30, '83 ; Lydia, b. Mar. 21, '86 ; Asenath, 
b. July 26, '88. 

Children of Jonathan and Sarah Woodward : — Patty, b. Auj^. 
7, 1766; John, b. Sept. 25, '67; Sarah, b. Aug. 16, '69; Molly, b. Peb. 
16, '7;^ ; Jonathan, b. Jan. i, '75 ; Timothy, b. Jan. 11, '80. 

Children of Eleazer and Arigail French: — Abiaail, \). Nov. 
6, 1757 ; Jonathan, b. Mar. 12, '6^ - ^.^^ | ' 

Children of Timothy and Susannah Read : — Susannah, b. Dec. 
20, 1761 ; Sybil, b. Apr. 6, '63; Timothy, b. Aug. 5, '65 ; Isaac, b. Mar. 
23, '67 ; Mary, b. Oct. 14, '68 ; Rebeckah, b. Aug. 5, '70 ; Catharine, b. 
Mar. 6, '7:^; William, b. Jan. 30, '75 ; Sybil, b. Mar. rr, '81. 

Children of Lemuel and Mary Perham : — Rebeckah, b. Feb. 
23, 1760 ; Elizabeth, b. Oct. 8, '62 ; Lemuel, b. Oct. 7, '64 ; Silas, b. Feb. 
10, '70; Rachel, b. Aug. 17, '71 ; Josiah, b. May i, '72,. 

Children of Dr. Ebenezer and Hannah Starr : — Rebecca, b. 
June 8, 1777 ; James Blanchard, b. Nov. 27, '78 ; Ebenezer, b. Feb. 18, 
'80 ; Hannah, b. Jan. 26, '82 ; John, b. Dec. 30, '83 ; Edward, b. July 
29, '86. 

Children of Mosks and Miriam HArdy : — Betty, b. Aug. 20, 

1771 ; Lydia, b. , ; Job, b. , ; Daniel, b. July 11^ 

^73 '1 Jesse, b. Aug. 22, '77 ; William, b. Feb. 13. '80 ; Simeon, b. Aug. i, 
'82 ; Hannah, b. June 28, '85 ; Polly, b. July 5, '87. 

Children of Lt. Jonathan and Mary Emerson: — Lucinda, b. 
Nov. 3, 1778 ; Polly, b. June 19, '80 ; Rachel, b. Oct. 6, '81 ; -Allen, b. 
Apr. 19, '82 ; Jonathan, b. Sept. 29, '84. 

Children of Philip and Mary Butterfield : — Philip, b. Feb. 
25, 1779; f*oIly, b. Apr. 17, '82; Ebenezer, b. Aug. 18, '86; Joseph 
Parkhurst, b. Apr. 21, '89 ; Asenath, b. June 28, '90 ; Rhoda, b. Apr. 27, 
'93 ; James, b. Jan. 29, '96 ; Frederick, b. Apr. 23, '99. 

Children of Eleazer and Rachel Read : — Rachel, b. June 4, 
1770; Rhoda, b. Nov. 26, '72 ; Caleb, b. Aug. 7, '75 ; Leonard, b. Apr. 4, 
^77 ; Rebecca, b. Mar. 5. '79 ; Betty, b. Dec. — , . 

Children of Samuel, Jr., and Ruth Taylor : — Ruth, b. May 17, 
1779, d. July 4, 1779; R^ith, b. June 27, '80; Elizabeth, b. Feb. 8, '83 ; 
Edee, b. Apr. 19, '85 ; Rhoda, b. Aug. 25, '87 ; Samuel, b. Feb. 16, '90 ; 

William, b July 23, '92 ; Luther, b, July i8, . 

Children of Jonathan and Lucy Fletcher : — Elizabeth ; Leon- 
ard ; Jonathan; Sarah; Samuel; William, b. Aug. 29, 1772; Lucy, b. 
Aug. 30, '74; Susannah, b. June 6, '76; Joseph, b. Nov. 7, '77. 

Children of Gershom and Sarah Proctor : — Sarah, b. June 27, 
1782; Gershom, b. Sept. 9, '83, d. Oct. i same year; Abigail, b. Mar. 6, 
'85 ; John, b. Jan. 22, 'd>7 ; Gershom, b. Oct. 15, '88. 



1873] BIRTHS IN DUNSTABLE. 2/5 

By wife Polly : — Amos, b. July 16, 1793 ; William, b. Oct. 13, '95 ; 
Rhoda, b Jan. 30, '98 ; Mary, b. Nov. 14, 1804. 

Children of Capt. Oliver and Sybil Cummings : — Oliver, b. 
July 12, 1757 ; James, b. May 26, '59; Josiah, b. Jan. 12, '63 ; Nathaniel, 
b. June 20, '67 ; Sybil, b. Aug. 14, '73. 

Child of Lt. John and Susannah Cheney : — Luther, b. July 7, 

1775- 

By Elizabeth, second wife : — Sarah, b. Feb. 25, 1778; Rebecca, b 
Apr. 3, '79; Isaac, b. Sept. 23, '80 ; Abigail, b. Aug 6/82. 

By Elizabeth, third wife: — Betsey, b. Oct. 31, 1790; Kendall, b. 
May 16, '92 ; Rhoda, b. Dec. 17, 1800. 

ChildrexN of Abraham and Anna Swallow: — Rhoda, b. Sept. 
30, 1791 ; Abraham, b. Jan. 19, '95 ; Mary, b. May 20, '97; Calvin, b. 
Apr. 20, '99; Luther, b. May 18, 1801 ; Sarah, b. Aug. 31, '03. 

Children of John and Huldah Ingalls : — John, b. June 8, 
1774 ; Mary, b. July 15, '76 ; Joseph, b. Apr. i, '78. 

By wife Abigail : — Eleazer French, b. Nov. 30, 1782 ; Joel, b. Sept. 
27, '84 ; Daniel, b. Oct. 6, '88; James, b. July 6, '91 ; Sarah, b. Nov. 13, 

'93- 

■"^ Children of Zebedee and Molly Kendall: — Zebedee, b. Nov. 
24, 1780; Samuel, b. Feb. 2, '82 ; Abraham, b. Jan. 12, '84; Molly, b. 
Oct. 17, '85 ; George Minot, b Sept. 24, '87; Amos, b. Aug. 16, '89 ; 
John, b. Nov. 3, '91 ; Hannah, b. Dec. 30, '93 ; Isaac, b. Nov. 25, '95 ; 
Sarah, b. Jan. 25, '98 ; Isaac, b. Aug. 13, '99 ; Timothy, b. July 16, 1802. 

Children of Dr. Micah and Sally (Buttrick) Eldredge : — 
Hezekiah, b. (in Princeton) Feb. 6, 1798 ; Sally, b. (in Dunstable) June i, 
1800 ; Almira, b. Feb. 17, '02 ; Erasmus Darwin, b. Mar. 10, '04 ; Horace 
Whiton, b. Dec. 19, '05 ; Olney, b. Nov. 12, '07; Frederic Augustus, b. 
Mar. 25, '10 ; Clifton Buttrick, b. Apr. 20, '12 ; Micah Rhodolphus, b. 
July 16, '15 ; Mary Abigail, b. June 13, '18 ; Lucius Owen, b. Mar. 20, 
'20 ; Wilburn Franillo, b. Nov. 17, '22. 

Children of Rev. Samuel H. and Rachel Tolman : — Elizabeth 
Damon, b. Aug. 13, 1820; Samuel H., b. July 28, '22; Lucy Damon, b. 
Mar. 13, '24; Samuel H., b. Aug. 21, '26. 

Children of Jasper Pope and Mary Proctor: — Josiah Cum- 
mings, b. Aug. 9, 181 7 ; Jasper Pope, b. June 4, '19 ; Mary Ann, b. Nov. 
8, '21 ; Dexter Putnam, b. Apr. 14, '24 ; Henry Oratius, b. Jan. 7, '28. 

Children of the Rev. Levi and Mary Brigham : — Eliza Cath- 
arine, b. Feb. — , 1839; Mary Louisa, b. June 25, '40; Edward Dexter, b. 
Oct. 4, '41 ; Abby Ann, b. Oct. 13, '44. 

Children of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Proctor : —John, b. July 
14, 1748 ; Jonathan, b. Mar. 15, '51 ; Gershom, b. Dec. 3, '53. 

Children of Jeremiah and Mary Cummings : — Mary, b. Nov. 
16, 1760; Jeremiah, b. Oct. 17, '69. 

Children of Peter and Prudence Swallow. — Nahum, b. June 



276 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

23, 1771 ; Prudence, b. July .26, '73; Larnard, b. July 30, '75 ; Larnard, 
b. June 18, 'TJ \ Sarah, b. Feb. 17, '80. 

By his wife Sybil: — Archelaus, b. Jan. 10, 1784; James, b. Oct. 23, 
'85 ; Lucy, b. Nov. 10, '87 ; Moody, b. Nov 5, '8g ; Abijah. b. Aug. 19, '92. 

Children of Isaac and Sarah Taylor : — Sarah, b. Aug. 22, 
1777 ; Isaac, b. May 19, '80 ; Deborah, b. May 13, '83 ; Lucy, b. Oct. 19, 
'86 ; Lydia, b. Apr 23, '89. 

Children of Phinehas and Anna Fletcher: — Anna, b. Oct. 
29, 1784 ; Sewall, b Oct. ig, '86 ; Mark, b. Aug. 19, '88 ; Mark, b. Sept. 
14, '90 ; Betsy, b. Oct. 2, '92 ; Charlotte, b May 19, '94. 

By his wife Alice : — Indiane, b. Dec. 13, 1796; Sally Ames, b. Oct. 
15, '98; Sally Ames, b. Nov. 2, '99 ; Lucy, b. Sept. 18, iSor ; Jane, b. 
Mar. 12, '04. 

Children of Jonas and Betty French : — Polly, b. Mar. 14, 
178 1 ; Jonas, b. Aug. 12, '82 ; William, b. June 5, '89 ; John, b. Mar. 9, '95. 

Children of Capt. Josiah and Sarah Cummings : — Sally, b. 
Nov. 25, 1785 ; Olive, b. Aug. 20, '97 ; Josiah Taylor, b. Dec. 29, 1801. 

Child of Edward and Anna Dunn: — William, b. Mar.- 5, 1787. 

Children of Ens. James and Charlotte Cummincs : — James, 
b. Jan. 26, 1780 ; Charlotte, b. May 13, '83 ; Israel Whitney, July 25, '85 ; 
Polly, b. Sept. 18, '87. 

By his wife Sarah : — 

Sally, b. Aug. 16, 1789 ; Isaac, b. Mar. 3, '91 ; Betsey, b. Apr. 16, '93 ; 
Lucinda, b. Jan. 28. '95 ; Rhoda, b. Nov. 23, '96 ; Sybil, b. June 20, '98 ; 
Oliver, b. Feb. 6, 1801 ; Loraine, b. Nov. 17, '02 ; Allen, b. Oct. 18. '04. 

Children of Jonathan and Rebeckah Proctor : — Jonathan, b. 

Nov. 22, 1785 ; Rebeckah, b. Feb. 6, '90 ; Jasper Pope, b. Feb. 28, '93. 

-• Children of Leonard and Hannah Parkhurst : — Betty Cu- 

mings, b. Nov. 10, 1791 ; Henry, b. June 17. '93': Sophy, b. Mar. 5, '95 ; 

John, b. Dec. 4, '96 ; Hannah, b. Aug. i, '98 ; Leonard, b. June 16, 1800 ; 

^Sally, b. July 3, '02 ; Rebecca, b. May 18, '04 ; Catharine, b. Feb. 2. '07. 

Children of Lieut. Zebulon and Mary Blodgett : — Zebulon, 
b. Nov. 2, 1797 ; Mary. b. July 9, 1800. 
■\ Children of Joseph and Catharine Parkhurst : — Kate, b. Mar. 

24, 1779; Hannah, b. Oct. 16, '80; Rhoda, b. Jan 12, '83 ; Silas, b. Oct. 
2, '84; Fanny, b. July 30, '86; Sally, b. Feb. 8, '89; Sybil, b. Sept. 11, 
'91 ; Rebekah, b. Apr. 7, '94. 

Children of the second wife, Sybil : —Abigail, b. July 21, 1801 ; Polly, 
b. Nov. 3, '02 ; Deborah, b. — , . 

Children of Temple and Prudence Kendall: — Peter, b. Oct. 
14, 1793; Rebeckah, b. Dec. 10, '95 ; Charles, b. Dec. 11, '97; Abigail, 
b. Mar. 31, 1800; Prudence, b. May 26, '02; Isaac, b. Sept. 22, '04; 
James, b. Oct. 2, '06 ; Sarah, b. Aug. 18, '08 ; Madison, b. July 30, '10 ; 
Cummings and Stiles (twins), b. Sept. 21, '12; Rhoda, b. Mar. 10, '14; 
Lavina, b. Nov. 6, '15 ; Andrew Temple, b. July 21, '18. 



18/3] BIRTHS IX DUNSTABLE. 2 77 

Children of Jonas and Hannah Taylor : — Hannah, b. Mar. 20 
1797 ; Frederick, b Nov. 12, '98 ; Hannah, b. June 18, 1800 ; Jefferson, b, 
Jan. I r, '02 ; Roxana, b. May 10, '04. 

Children of Silas and Rebeckah Johnson : — Ephraim, b. Apr. 22, 
1790 ; Lucy, b. Sept. 14, '91 ; Abel, b. Nov. i, '93 ; Jesse, b. May 3, '97. 

Children of Ens. Samuel and Rhoda Fletcher : — Rhoda, b. 
Dec 24. 1796 ; James Kendall, b. Nov. 2, '99 ; Susanna, b. Apr. 3, 1809. 

Children of Peter and Sarah Blood : — Sarah, b. Mar. 7, 1791 ; 
Jesse, b. Jan. 13, '93 ; James, b. Feb. 3, 95 ; Levi, b. Oct. 30, '97 ; Luther, 
b. Feb. 3, 1801 ; Susan, b. Oct. 4, '04 ; Eh, b. Apr. 24, '08. 

Children of Capt. Jonas and Olive Kendall : — Susanna, b. 
Apr. 15, 1797 ; Chiles, b. Dec. 29, '98 ; Olive Catharine Butterfield, b. 
Sept. 4, 1801 ; Jonas, b. Feb. 5, '04 ; Sarah, b. March 10, '06 ; Elizabeth, 
b. Sept. I, '07 ; Elmna. b. Feb. 2, '11 ; Amanda, b. Feb. 8, '14. 

Children of Caleb and Abigail Woods : — Henry, b. June 8, 
1790; Nabby, b. Apr. 4, '92; Hannah, b. Jan. 24, '94; Jeptha, b. in 
Groton, Mar. 25, '96; Matilda, b. in Groton, Feb. 27, '98; Deborah, b. in 
Dunstable, Nov. 14, 1801 ; Maria, b. Aug. 14, '03 ; Rebecca, b. Aug. 
25, '07 ; Caleb, b. Oct. 16. '09. 

Children of Jonathan and Jemima Swallow : — Alice ; Lucinda; 
Jonathan, b. Feb. 18, 1793 ; Clarinda, b. June 18, '95 ; Sophrona, b. Jan. 

30, '99; John Wilson, b. Apr. 18, 1803 ; Sarah, b. Sept. 3, '06. 
Children of Asa and Susanna Swallow : — Kendall, b. June 14, 

1792 ; Susanna, b. Sept. 23, '94 ; Asa, b. Apr. 3, '96; Laura, b. July 25, 
'98; Ruel. b. Oct. II. 1801 ; Bera, b. Apr. 10, '06; Maria, b. Jan. 6, ''11. 

Children of Leonard and Mary Butterfield: — Polly, b. Oct. 
3, 1797 ; Leonard, b. Mar. 4, '99; Asa, b. Aug. 7, 1801; Sarah and Abi- 
gail (twins), b. Mar. 2, '05; Catharine, b. Mar. 4, '09. 

Children of Elijah and Rebeckah Robbins: — Elijah, b. July 

31, 1791; Henry, b. Sept. 25. '93; Larnard, b. Mar. 10, '96; Emerson, b. 
July 17, '97; Parlin, b. Apr. 21, 1802; Damaris Powers, b. Sept. 19, '05; 
Desire, b. June 18, '07; Damaris Powers, b. Dec. 9, '08; Albert, b. Dec. 
19, '10; Desire Rhoda, b. Apr. r6, '14. 

Children of Eber and Sarah Blood: — Adah, b. Mar. 9, 1793; 
Lsaac, b. Nov. 24, '94. d. Dec. 25, '94; Nancy, b. June 5, '97; Ralph, b. 
Nov. 13, '99; Allen, b. Jan. 19, 1803; Lucy, b. Dec. 22, '06; Elizabeth, b. 
May 29. '09; Rufus, b. June 28, '11, d. Aug. 13, '29, ag«d 18. 

Children of Henry and Mary Blood : — Henry, b. May 9, 1793, 
d. July 19, '93; Mary, b. Mar. g|, '96; Henry, b. Oct. 11, '98; Charles, b. 
Nov. 20, 1802; Betsy, b. Jan. i, '05; Miles, b. Dec. 2, '07. 

Children of Caleb and Sarah Read : — Calvin, b. Jan. 20, 1798 ; 
James, b. March 30, '99; Rachel, b. Mar. 30, 1801. 

Children of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Parkhurst : — Ebenezer, 
b. Feb. 12, 1788; Benajah, b. Sept. 14, '94; Jacob, b. Aug. 30, '96; 
Americas, b. Apr. 17, '99. 



278 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [iS/S 



CHAPTER XV. 

Letters. — What a New England Town is. — How Dunstable was 
FORMED. — Early Settlers. — Manners and Customs. — Modes of 
Living. — Population. — Action after Division. — Heroism. — Love- 
well's Fight. — Lndependence. — Troops raised. — Civil War. — 
Town Matters. — Religious Teaching. — Distinguished Men. — Amos 
Kendall. — Conclusion. 

" History, to be instructive, must not only narrate events, but state the 
causes which produced them. Our stock of wisdom is not materially 
increased by being told that an event transpired, but when we are made 
acquainted with the causes which brought it about, we have atquired val- 
uable information, and from this knowledge of the past we can reason 
with tolerable certainty to the future." Charles Hudson. 

" Gone are those great and good 
Who here in peril stood. 

And raised their hymn. 
Peace to the reverend dead ! 
The light that on their head 
Two hundred years have shed 

Shall ne'er grow dim." — John Pierpont. 

CORRESPONDENCE IN RESPECT TO THE BI-CENTENNIAL ADDRESS. 

Dunstable, Mass., Oct. 23, 1873. 
Hon. Geo. B. Loring, 

President of the Senate of Mass. : 
Dear Sir ^ — Will you favor us for publication with a copy of your address 
at the bi-centennial celebration of the incorporation of our town ? By so 
doing you will confer a favor, as it is the unanimous expressed wish of 
the inhabitants of the town that it be published. 

Very truly your obt. svt., 

JosiAH C. Proctor, 

t^For and in behalf of the 

Cotn m it tee of A rrangem enis. 

Massachuse'its Senate, President's Room, 

Boston, April 18, 1874. 
My dear Sir, — It gives me pleasure to furnish you with a copy of my 
address at the bi-centennial celebration of the incorporation of the town 



i873l 



BI-CENTENNJAL ORATION. 



2/9 



of Dunstable. The occasion will long be remembered by me as a manifes- 
tation of the veneration in which the people of the town of Dunstable 
hold their pious and heroic ancestors. 

Truly yours, etc., 

Geo. B. Loring. 
JosiAH C. Proctor, Esq., 

Chairman of Com., Dunstable, Mass. 




oration of hon. george b. loring, sept. 17, 1873. 

My Friends and Fellow-Citizens : — 

I have accepted your invitation to deliver this address on the occasion 
of the second centennial anniversary of the settlement- of your town, with 
great reluctance and many misgivings. I cannot expect to share with you 
all those hallowed memories which spring up in your minds and warm 
your hearts, whose homes are on this spot, whose ancestors repose 
beneath this sod, whose hearthstones are here, whose eyes have beheld 
the domestic scenes and whose hearts have felt the joys and sorrows 
which make up the story you would most gladly hear to-day. To you 
who enjoy this spot as home, the church, this village green, these farm- 
houses, every field and wooded hill, the highway and the by-path, the 



28o HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

valley and the brook, all tell a tale of tender interest, to you who remember 
the events of childhood here, to you who to-day return from long wander- 
ings, to you who have remained and have brought this municipality on to 
an honorable era in its history, to you who turn aside to linger over the 
grave of a beloved parent, and to you who still pause and drop a tear on 
that little mound where your child has lain so long and from which, 
through all the years that have passed since it left you, its sweet voice 
has been heard, reminding you of your duty in this world and assuring 
you of the peace and joy of the world to come. To me, indeed, the 
domestic record of this town, the most sacred record to you, is, as it were, 
a sealed volume, open only to my gaze as a member of the same human 
family with yourselves, and as one feeling that common sympathy which 
binds, as with a silver cord, all the sons of God into one great brother- 
hood. While, therefore, I cannot intrude upon the sacredness of your 
firesides, nor claim a seat in your domestic circle, nor expect to be admitted 
within the railing of your altar, I can call to your minds those events in 
the history of your town which have established its intimate relations 
with that interesting experiment of society and State which has been 
worked out on this continent during the last two hundred years. 

WHAT A NEW ENGLAND TOWN IS. 

In celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of a New England town, 
the peculiar and extraordinary nature of a civil organization of this kind 
should not be forgotten, especially by those who enjoy the high privileges 
which belong to it. To many nationalities and peoples a town means 
nothing more than a cluster of houses surrounded by a wall and fortified, 
or the realm of a constable, or the seat of a church ; but to us in New 
England the town was in the beginning, as it is now, the primary organi- 
zation, sovereign in itself. " The colonists had no sooner formed a settle- 
ment, and erected their cabins in convenient proximity to each other, 
than they organized themselves into a town, an independent municipality, 
in which every citizen had a voice and a vote." The first duty of these 
organizations, in the minds of our fathers, was the establishment of a 
church ; and the erection of a meeting-house and a school-house received 
their earliest care and attention. It is remarkable and interesting to see 
how, in the little municipalities of New England, all the rights of citizen- 
ship were cherished, and how silently and unostentatiously all the elements 
of a free state were fixed and developed. Starting away from the original 
colonies, they planted themselves in the wilderness, and assumed at once 
the duty of independent organizations. Their citizens, in town meeting 
assembled, had the control of all matters relating to their civil and criminal 
jurisdiction. " In the New England colonies the towns were combined 
in counties long after their establishment and representation as towns ; 
so that the county here was a collection of towns, rather than the town a 
subdivision of a county." This system of town organization is maintained 



1873] BI-CENTENNIAL ORATION. 28 1 

throughout New England to the present day, constituting one of the most 
interesting features of the civil polity of this section of our country. Says 
Barry, in his " History of Massachusetts," " Each (town) sustained a 
relation to the whole, analogous to that which the States of our Union 
hold respectively to the central power, or the Constitution of the United 
States." Says Palfrey, in his " History of New England," " With some- 
thing of the same propriety with which the nation may be said to be a 
confederacy of republics called States, each New England State may be 
described as a confederacy of minor republics called towns." Neither in 
New York, with its great landed properties, at first held and occupied by 
a kind of feudal tenure, and afterwards with its counties ; nor in the 
Western States, where the town survey carries with it no local political 
authority ; nor in the South, where the county organization is the one 
which governs local matters, can be found that form of self-government 
which gives to the New England towns their individuality, and which has 
enabled them to enroll their names on the brightest pages of American 
history. How, in the olden time, they cherished the church and built the 
meeting-house ; how they fostered education and erected the school-house ; 
how they selected their wisest and bravest men for the public councils ; 
how they resolved for freedom in open town-meeting ; how they hurled 
defiance at the oppressor, and sprang up, an army of defiant communities, 
each one feeling its responsibility, and ready and anxious to assume it ! 
Would you study the valor of your country in its earlier days .? Go to the 
town records of Nevi^ England. Would you learn where the leaders and 
statesmen were taught their lesson of independence and nationality? Read 
the recorded resolves of the New England towns. The origin and orga- 
nization of these New England towns were by no means uniform. In 
some instances they were founded immediately on the landing of the 
colonists, out of lands conferred upon them by their charter. In other 
instances they were made up by grants of land to an offshoot from the 
parent colony, whose enterprise consisted in organizing a new town. In 
other instances grants of land were made from time to time to individuals 
and corporations for farms and other purposes, which grants were after- 
wards consolidated into townships. In this last manner grew up that large 
town organization known as Dunstable. It occupied one of the most 
beautiful sections of New England. "To the great Indian tribes the 
Merrimack and Nashua Rivers were as well known- as they are to us. 
From the great lake of New Hampshire to the sea ran for them the strong 
and flashing river, whose waters abounded with fish of the best variety, 
and whose banks were diversified with warm and sunny slopes, fertile 
valleys, and tree-crowned hills. 

" To the white explorers these lands presented great attractions ; and 
so in 1659 and 1660, and on to 1673, grants of land were made in these 
regions from time to time to the explorers Davis and Johnson, to Mrs. 
Anna Lane, to John Wilson, to the town of Charlestown for a ' School 



282 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

Farm,' to John Whiting, to Phinehas Pratt and others, to Gov. Endecott, 
to Henry Kimball, to Samuel Scarlett, to Joseph and Thomas Wheeler, to 
the ' Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston,' and to others 
of less chivalry and less note. It was the proprietors of these farms and 
others disposed to settle here, who, in September, 1673, presented a 
petition to the General Assembly that they might be ' in a way for the 
support of the public ordinances of God,' for without which the greatest 
part of the year they will be deprived of, the farms lying so far remote 
from any towns." The petition was granted upon the conditions which 
were th<jn universally inserted in the charters, viz., "that the grantees 
should settle the plantation, procure a minister within three years, and 
reserve a farm for the use of the colony." 

HOW DUNSTABLE WAS FORMED. 

The township of Dunstable, thus chartered, embraced a very large 
tract, probably more than two hundred square miles, including the towns 
of Nashua, Nashville, Hudson, Hollis, Dunstable, and Tyngsborough, 
besides portions of the towns of Amherst, Milford, Merrimac, Litchfield, 
Londonderry, Pelham, Brookline, Pepperell, and Townsend, and formed 
a part of the county of Middlesex. It extended ten or twelve miles 
west of Merrimack River, and from three to five miles east of it, 
and its average length north and south was from twelve to fourteen 
miles. The present city of Nashua occupies very nearly the centre 
of the original township. In 1674, because there was "very little medo 
left except what is already granted to the ffarmers," the easterly line 
of the township was extended to Beaver Brook by an additional grant 
from the General Court, and the town was called Dunstable It received 
its name in compliment to Mrs. Mary Tyng, wife of Hon. Edward 
Tyng, one of the magistrates of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
who came from Dunstable, England. This extensive tract of land, thus 
incorporated and thus named, has been subjected to many divisions. 
In 1 731 the inhabitants on the east side of the river petitioned to be set 
off, which petition was granted, and a new town was created by the As- 
sembly of Massachusetts, called Nottingham. In 1733 a part of the town 
lying west of Merrimack River was incorporated into a township by the 
name of Rumford, but soon after was called Merrimac. In 1734 Litch- 
field was set off and incorporated, because the inhabitants there had, as 
they said, "supported a minister for some time." In 1736 Hollis was set 
off from Dunstable; and in 1734 Amherst was settled and incorporated- 
In 1732 Townsend was incorporated, taking in the southerly part of the 
town, including Pepperell. Thus township after township had become 
parcelled out from the original body of "old Dunstable," until in 1740 
the broad and goodly plantation was reduced to that portion only which is 
now embraced within the limits of Nashua and Nashville, Tyngsborough 
and Dunstable. At length the boundary line between New Hampshire 



f 



1873] B1-CEN7ENNIAL ORATION. 283 

and Massachusetts was established in 1741, severing Dunstable very 
nearly in the middle, and leaving the town of Nashua within the limits of 
New Hampshire. To the township of Dunstable in Massachusetts, where 
we are now assembled, have since been added portions of the town of 
Groton, the first portion having been set off Feb. 25, 1793, and the second 
Feb. 15, 1820, for the convenience of the inhabitants, and that the bound- 
ary lines might be straightened. 

EARLY SETTLERS. 

Among the original proprietors of this land we find the names of many 
of the leading men in the colony, some of whom, with the children and 
friends of others, removed here and took up their abode at an early period. 
Of this number we find Governor Dudley, who married a daughter of Hon. 
Edward Tyng, of this town ; Rev. Thomas Weld, who was the first min- 
ister, and married another daughter ; Thomas Brattle, Peter Bulkely, 
Hezekiah Usher, Elisha Hutchinson, Francis Cook, and others who were 
assistants and magistrates. Many of the first settlers belonged to Boston 
and its vicinity, a circumstance which gave strength and influence to the 
infant plantation. 

EARLY MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

Of the motives and manners and customs of those who founded this 
town let me here say a word. They formed a part of that large body of 
Dissenters, who, under various names, came to New England and settled 
the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. They came, it is true, 
to enjoy religious freedom, but they also sought a civil organization, 
fovmded upon the right of every man to a voice in the government under 
which he lives. In the charters of all the towns granted by the General 
Court, it was provided that the grantees were " to procure and maintain an 
able and orthodox minister amongst them," and to build a meeting-house 
within three years. " This was their motive. In all their customs they were 
obliged to exercise the utmost simplicity, and they voluntarily regulated 
their conduct by those formal rules which, in their day, constituted the 
Puritan's guide through the world. We are told, as an illustration of their 
character and manners, that by the laws of the colony in 1651, '-dancing 
at weddings " was forbidden. In 1660 William Walker was imprisoned a 
month "for courting a maid without the leave of her -parents." In 1675, 
because "there is manifest pride appearing in our streets," the wearing of 
" long hair or periwigs," and also " superstitious ribands " used to tie up and 
decorate the hair, were forbidden under severe penalties ; men, too, were 
forbidden to "keep Christmas," because it was a " Popish custom." In 
1677 an act was passed to prevent " the profaneness " of " turning the back 
upon the public worship before it is finished and the blessing pronounced." 
Towns were directed to erect " a cage " near the meeting-house, and in 
this all offenders against the sanctity of the Sabbath were confined. 



284 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

At the same time children were directed to be placed in a particular 
part of the meeting-house, apart by themselves, and tithing-men were 
ordered to be chosen, whose duty it should be to take care of them. So 
strict were they in their observance of the Sabbath, that John Atherton, 
a soldier of Col. Tyng's company, was fined by him forty shillings for 
" wetting a piece of an old hat to put into his shoes," which chafed his feet 
upon the march ; and those who neglected to attend meeting for three 
months were publicly whipped. Even in Harvard College students were 
whipped for grave offences in the chapel in the presence of students and 
professors, and prayers were had before and after the infliction of the 
punishment. As the settlers of Dunstable are described in the petition as 
" of soberly and orderly conversation," we may suppose that these laws 
and customs were rigidly enforced. 

MODES OF LIVING. 

Perhaps a word upon the subsistence and diet of your ancestors may 
interest you here. Palfrey tells us that " in the early days of New England 
wheaten bread was not so uncommon as it afterwards became," but its 
place was largely supplied by preparations of Indian corn A mixture of 
two parts of the meal of this grain with one part of rye has continued, 
until far into the present century, to furnish the bread of the great body 
of the people. In the beginning there was but a sparing consumption of 
butcher's meat. The multiplication of flocks for their wool, and of herds 
for draught and for milk, was an important care, and they generally bore 
a high money value. Game and fish to. a considerable extent supplied 
the want of animal food. Next to these, swine and poultry, fowls, ducks, 
geese, and turkeys, were in common use earlier than other kinds of flesh 
meat. The New-Englander of the present time, who, in whatever rank of 
life, would be at a loss without his tea or coffee twice at least in every 
day, pities the hardships of his ancestors, who almost universally, for a 
century and a half, made their morning and evening repast on boiled 
Indian meal and milk, or a porridge, or a broth made of pease or beans 
and flavored by being boiled with salted beef or pork. Beer, however, 
which was brewed in families, was accounted a necessary of life, and the 
orchards soon yielded a bountiful supply of cider. Wine and rum found 
a ready market as soon as they were brought from abroad ; and tobacco 
and legislation had a long conflict, in which the latter at last gave way. 

POPULATION. 

It is difficult to realize how feeble and few were the colonists at the 
time when this town was passing out of its confederation of farms into an 
organized corporation. There were then probably " in New England 
from forty thousand to forty-five thousand English people. Of this num- 
ber twenty-five thousand may have belonged to Massachusetts, ten thou- 
sand to Connecticut, as newly constituted, five thousand to Plymouth, and 



1873] Pr-CENTFNNIAL RATION. 285 

three thousand to Rhode Island. They inhabited ninety towns, of which 
four were in Rhode Island, twelve in Plymouth, twenty-two in Connec- 
ticut, and the rest in Massachusetts. . . . Connecticut, accordins; to 
the account sent home by the royal commissioners, had many scatterins^ 
towns not worthy of their names, and a scholar to their minister in every 
town or village. In Rhode Island, they said, were the best English grass 
and most sheep, the ground very fruitful, ewes bringing ordinarily two 
lambs, corn yielding eighty for one, and in some places thev had had corn 
twenty-six years together without manuring In this province only they 
had not any places set apart for the worship of God ; there being so many 
subdivided sects they could not agree to meet together in one place, but, 
according to their several judgments, they sometimes associated in one 
house, sometimes in another. In Plymouth it was the practice to persuade 
men, sometimes to compel them, to be freemen, — so far were they from 
hindering any. They had about twelve small towns, one saw-mill for 
boards, one bloomary for iron, neither good river nor good harbor, nor 
any place of strength ; they were so poor they were unable to maintain 
scholars to their ministry, but were necessitated to make use of a gifted 
brother in some places. The commodities of Massachusetts were fish, 
which was sent into France, Spain, and the Straits, pipe-staves, masts, 
fir boards, some pitch and tar, pork, beef, horses, and corn, which they sent 
to Virginia, Barbadoes. etc., and took tobacco and sugar for payment, which 
they often sent for England. There was good store of iron made in the 
province. In the Piscataqua towns were excellent masts gotten, . . . 
and upon the river were above twentv saw-mills, and there were great 
stores of pipe-staves made and great store of good timber spoiled. In 
Maine there were but few towns, and those much scattered ; they were 
rather farms than towns. In the Duke of York's province beyond the 
Kennebec there were three small plantations, the biggest of which had 
not above thirty houses in it, and those very mean ones too, and spread 
over eight miles at least. Those people were, for the most part, fisher- 
men, and never had any government among them ; most of them were 
such as had fled hither to avoid justice. In Boston, the principal town 
'of the country, the houses were generally wooden, the streets crooked, 
with little decency and no uniformity ; and there neither months, days, 
seasons of the year, churches, nor rivers were known by their English 
names. At Cambridge they had a wooden college,- and in the yard a 
brick pile of two bayes for the Indians, where the commissioners saw but 
one. They said they had three more at school. It might be feared this 
college might afford as many schismatics to the church and the corpora- 
tion as many rebels to the king, as formerly they had done if not timely 
prevented." 



286 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 



ACTION OF THE TOWN AFTER THE DIVISION OF MASSACHUSETTS AND 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

The division of the original township and the adjustment of the bound- 
ary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire by no means removed 
all the difficulties which had attended the course of the town thus far. 
On the 1 2th of March, 1743, a town meeting was held at the house of 
Ebenezer Kendall, not only " to raise money to defray ye charges of said 
town, and to support ye Gospell," but also " to choose a committee to 
treat with a committee in the District of Dunstable, if they choose one, 
to examine the debts and credit of ye town and to know how they stood 
before the line was run between ye Province of Massachusetts Bay and 
New Hampshire." Deacon John Taylor, Ebenezer Farkhurst, and Capt. 
John Cummings were the committee. A large part of the business of the 
town for several years, at the time I refer to, consisted in running lines, 
and endeavoring to adjust the debts and claims, interspersed with debates 
upon building meeting-houses and laying out burying-grounds. Now and 
then a young and ambitious community, which had started off and set 
up on its own account, expressed a desire to return to the old roof- tree; 
and it was found necessary to vote, in 1743, not to annex Nottingham, 
which had been set off but twelve years previous. The places for public 
worship seem to have been steadily provided, either in some private 
house or barn, or in a building erected for that purpose. Preaching the 
people would have at any rate. Of education, I cannot say quite as much. 
The burden was, perhaps, at times, a little too heavy for that primitive 
people, and so in 1769 they voted not to raise any money for the support 
of a school, at one meeting, but at another they voted to spend £,2.0 for a 
school, and in the same breath, mindful of their dangers and necessities, 
they voted ;^6 and \os. for ammunition. In 1771 they raised ^24 for a 
school, and £60 for the highways. In 1774 it was voted not to raise 
money for schools. But in the midst of all the trials and the impov- 
erishment of the Revolutionary war, they voted, March 5, 1778, "to raise 
and be assessed ^50 for the support of a school," recognizing the value 
of a cultivated mind in a community assuming the duties and enjoying the" 
rights of a free people. I am also reminded by their record that they 
intended to hold their public servants to a strict accountability, for in 
1751 an article was inserted in the warrant for a town meeting, "To 
choose a committee to search John Stealls account as town treasurer" ; 
but John Steall, in spite of his name, turned up an honest man, and the 
article was dismissed from the warrant. 

THE HEROISM OF THE TOWN. 

But not in matters relating to the religious and civil and educational 
interests of the town alone were your ancestors engaged, from the earliest 
settlement in 1655 to the period to which I have now arrived. The lands 



1873] BI-CENTENNIAL ORATION. 287 

were too fertile, and the rivers too fair, and the forests too well stocked 
with game, to be abandoned without a struggle on the part of those abo- 
riginal occupants who had enjoyed their possession for many generations. 
The popular rights there asserted, as the town grew into a definite civil 
organization, were not to be established without a blow ; and later still, 
the integrity of that government which had been founded at such a vast 
expense of blood and treasure, and by the exercise of so much study, 
sagacity, and wisdom, was not to be preserved except by the devotion and 
valor of loyal men in arms. In every crisis occurring within a century 
and three quarters ofits existence — now in struggle with a savage foe, 
now in strife against the tyrant and the oppressor, and now in deadly con- 
flict with the traitor — Dunstable has always done her duty well. As early 
as July 5, 1689, your ancestors were called to arms against that savage 
band which, having attacked Dover and having killed Major Waldron and 
his men, turned their bloody attention towards this town. In the summer 
of 1691 this attack was renewed, and in the month of September of that 
year, one hundred and eighty-two years ago, the entire family of Joseph 
Hassell was slain, — the first sacrifice offered up here in the cause of civ- 
ilization, — whose simple monument has long since been obliterated by the 
hand of industry, and whose sad and touching story alone remains. The 
town now became a garrison. The General Court granted aid for the 
support of its church, and made a liberal abatement of its State tax. Upon 
Jonathan Tyng, that name so long honored and beloved here and so con- 
spicuous for generations in the annals of our country, fell the duty of pre- 
serving the very existence of the place, as commander of the fortifications 
erected to protect it. That this war, which lasted until 1698, was full of 
thrilling and painful incident in this town, we have every reason to sup- 
pose, although we find no written record, and the tradition was long ago 
forgotten ; but we do know that here Joe English performed his won- 
derful exploits, and that Mrs. Dustin, who was captured at Haverhill, and 
who slew her captors, ten in number, at the mouth of the Contoocook 
River, found her first refuge as she wandered down the valley of the Mer- 
rimack on her way homeward, in the house of old John Lovewell, " father 
of worthy Capt. Lovewell," which stood on the side of Salmon Brook, a 
few feet northeast of the Allds Bridge. When, in 1703, the Indian hos- 
tilities were renewed, and the General Assembly offered ^40 for every 
Indian scalp, it was Capt. Jonathan Tyng, of Dunstable, who first accepted 
the tender, and made a good winter's work by going to their headquarters 
at Pequawkett, securing five scalps, and receiving therefor ^200. It was 
in this war that the family of Robert Parris was massacred, two little girls 
alone escaping by fleeing to the cellar and hiding in a hogshead (who 
cannot hear their little hearts beating in agony amidst the terrors which 
surrounded their dark and narrow retreat ?), one of whom was preserved 
to become ancestress of the useful and distinguished family of Goffes, so 
well known here and in New Hampshire. It was in this war that a band 



288 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

of Mohawks surprised your garrisons and murdered your people, and in 
which, I am proud to say, the men of Essex County came to your rescue 
and defence. It was in this war, which lasted until 1713. a period of 
twenty years, that the population of this town was reduced one half, but 
thirteen families and eighty-six persons remaining ; that the entire popu- 
lation was obliged to live in garrison ; and that fear and desolation reigned 
everywhere, as the savages hung upon the skirts of the English villages 
" like lightning on the edge of a cloud." 

lovrwell's fight. 
In 1724 a contest broke out with the Indians, in which Dunstable seems 
to have been principally interested from beginning to end, and in which 
the warriors of Dunstable bore a most conspicuous part. The strife began 
with an attack by the English on the town, of Norridgewock, Me , during 
which a band of Mohawks turned upon this town, and commenced a story 
of cruelty, adventure, and valor hardly equalled in history. The capture 
of Nathan Cross and Thomas Blanchard' began the fray, which resulted in 
the death of Lieut. Ebenezer French/Thomas Lund, Oliver Farwell, and 
Ebenezer Cummings, of Dunstable, whose burial-place is still marked by 
a monument not far from the State line. It was in consequence of this 
attack that John Lovewell, Josiah Farwell, and Jonathan Robbins. of this 
town, petitioned the General Assembly for leave to raise a company, and 
to scout against the Indians. Their petition was granted, changing the 
bounty for scalps from ^50 to ^100, and John Lovewell organized his 
expedition. His first successful march into the Pequawkett region was 
in December, 1724, from which he returned to organize another and 
larger expedition, on which he set out in February, 1725, and which 
resulted in the entire destruction of a band of Indians, on the 20th of 
that month, near what is now known as Lovewell's Pond. " Encouraged 
by his former success, and animated still with an uncommon zeal of doing 
what service he could," Lovewell marched a third time into the wilder- 
ness, intending to attack the Pequawketts in their headquarters on the 
Saco River. Early in May, 1725, he set forth with thirty-four men, of 
whom seven were from Dunstable, five from Woburn, seven from Con- 
cord, one from Andover. one from Weston, one from Londonderry, one 
from Billerica, seven from Groton. and two from Haverhill. These brave 
men, who, having reached the scene of action, and holding counsel on the 
subject of attacking a large body of Indians who lay in wait for them, 
declared " that as they had come out on purpose to meet the enemy, they 
would rather trust Providence with their lives and die for their country 
than return without seeing them," were ambushed and nearly all slain, 
Capt. Lovewell falling at the first fire, and his chaplain, Jonathan Frye, 
of Andover, lingering three days after the close of the fight, and dying of 
his wounds in the wilderness. Many a time have I, when a boy, paused 
to rest beneath the shade of a graceful, sturdy, and imposing elm-tree, 



1873] BI-CENTENNIAL ORATION. 289 

which crowns one of the finest hills of my native town of North Andover, 
and I have mused there iqDon the sad and tragic story of that young man, 
Jonathan Frye, who, when he left his home to join Capt. Lovewell's expe- 
dition, planted that tree, that he might, as he said, leave his monument 
behind should he fall in the service. The memorial is, indeed, beautiful 
and significant, as in each returning spring, all through this century and a 
half of years, it has crowned itself in honor of his memory who planted it 
there; but the young man has a higher and more enduring monument 
still, in that it is recorded of him that " worthy and promising," a son of 
Harvard, he laid down his life to prepare the way for the dawn over that 
wilderness of the religion of his Lord and Master, to whom he had dedi- 
cated all his powers. The memory of Capt. Lovewell is as green as the 
opening springtime forest where he fell; and while man sets high value on 
courage and honor and devotion will the poet sing his praise, and the 
historian portray his deeds, and your town will be proud of her son* 
This chivalrous and touching and disastrous struggle closed the long 
series of Indian dejjredations, in which Dunstable had been threatened so 
often and had suffered so much. 

During the French war, which broke out in 1755, the towns composing 
the original territory of Dunstable did valiant service, true to their tra- 
ditions, and faithful to the memory of their illustrious dead. In the 
adventures of that war, in which John Stark commenced his career in 
connection with the men of Dunstable, the names of Lovewell, Blanchard, 
Johnson, Farwell, French, and Goffe, names possessed and cherished by 
you still, are foremost. And now the great events of the American Revo- 
lution began, both in the council and on the field. I find that on Oct. 3, 

1774, while this town "chose Capt. John Tyng to represent the town in 
the great and general court or assembly, to be held and kept at the court 
house in Salem, upon Wednesday, the fifth day of October," the inhabi- 
tants also voted that " John Tyng and James Tyng serve for this town in 
the Provincial Congress, to be held in Concord on Tuesday, the eleventh 
day of October," two for one in favor of the uprising patriots. With 
this, I think, we ought to be content. 

On the eleventh day of January, 1775, John Tyng and James Tyng 
were chosen to represent the town in a Provincial Congress, to be held in 
Cambridge on the first day of February, and it was voted " that the 
following committee of inspection of nine persons be appointed to carry 
into execution, in the town of Dunstable, the agreement and association 
of the late respectable Continental Congress. John Tyng and James 
Tyng, Esqrs., and Messrs. Joseph Danforth, Nathaniel Holden, William 
Gordon, Reuben Butterfield, Jacob Fletcher, Leonard [Butterfield], and 
Joel Parkhurst were chosen as this committee." On the 12th of June, 

1775, John Tyng was, on account of feeble health, obliged to resign his 
seat in the Provincial Congress at Watertown, and Joel Parkhurst was 
elected to fill his place. There are frequent indications on your town- 

19 



2Q0 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873 

books of the advancing spirit of your ancestors in the cause of independ- 
ence. Feb. 14, 1776, for instance, the town-meeting was called "in His 
Majesty's name " ; May 15 it was called " in the name of the Government 
and people of y^ Massachusetts Bay"; Sept, 20, "In the name of the 
Government and People of the Massachusetts State" ; and Oct. 3, 1776, 
the town voted to recommend the adoption of a State Constitution. 

A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

Meanwhile the spirit of independence grew warmer and warmer, and 
the idea of American nationality filled the minds of the people of the 
town. The Declaration of Independence had not yet set forth the 
wrongs of the colonies, it is true, nor had it proclaimed to the world 
the intention and ultimate object of the American people in the great 
contest then raging ; but to the people of Dunstable, these wrongs were 
familiar, and their breasts were animated by those patriotic sentiments 
which had been uttered in such eloquent tones in Faneuil Hall, and had 
found such a warm response on the floor of the Continental Congress, 
and so this town spoke and made its record for the time. If you will 
turn to your town-books you will find the following entry : — 

"At a meeting of y^ Town of Dunstable on June S'''^ 1776 [nearly a 
month before the Declaration of Independence], chose Mr, Joel Park- 
hurst, Moderator : — Then chose Major Ebenezer Bancroft, Capt. Reuben 
Butterfield, and Mr. Timothy Read, a committee to prepare ye Draught 
of a vote which is as follows: — At a time when ye most important 
Questions that ever were agitated Before y® Representative Body of 
this Colony, Touching its Liberties and privileges, will demand your 
attention, as we your constituents are called upon to instruct you in 
every Important Point of Duty you may be called to act upon, viz : 
of ye Colonyes being Declared Independent of Grate Brittan when 
we reflect upon the States of America, when our Forefathers first 
came over here, and ye cause for which they came, and The Treatment 
of Grate Brittan Towards us Ever since, But especially of Late when 
our Humble Petition to ye King of Grate Brittan for our just Rights 
Repeatdly Rejected with Disdain and fier and sword, Takeing place 
upon our Brethren of this Land. He and His Parliament not only 
Deceaving the People of Grate Brittan but attempting To hier y natives 
of this Land to Butcher us, and for what we know hath Hired all y* 
covitous. Bloodthirsty souls upon ye face of ye whole earth to come 
against us in order to rob us of Life and fortune, ye contemplation of 
which fills our brests [with] Abhorrence and Disdain against ye Power 
that is thus acting we then will joyn with our brethren of America, in 
Pressing such measures as the Hon'ble the Continental Congress shall 
adopt if it is that of Independence of Grate Brittan and you will Equip 
yourself as a meml)er of Society and will use your utmost Indeavors in 
promoting the cause of America not in the least doubting your abilities. 



1873] SI-CENTENNIAL ORATION. 29 1 

The above being Red to y« Town y'' Question being put whether y^ same 
Be given as advice to y^ present Representative of this Town passed in 
the affirmative. A^ciii. Con. 

" Entered by 

"JosiAH Blodgett Jr., 

" Town Clerk.'" 

I think I see them now, those earnest and manly sons of the Puritan 
warriors and teachers, who had filled the pulpits and town-houses and 
armies of our land during a century of protest and trial and self-sacrifice 
and defiance, rising higher and higher in their indignant sense of duty as 
the fierce periods whicli I have just read to you were launched forth upon 
an approving town-meeting here by that simple and sturdy chairman. And 
can you not feel with them the hot blood of the warrior Lovewell coursing 
through their veins as the ardent declaration went on ? The memory of 
long and weary trials in the cause of civilization there in that wilderness 
of the precepts of those old teachers who were gone, of the bloody seas 
through which they had been brought to their great assertion, of the 
wrongs of the past, — this, and their glowing understanding of the promise 
of the present hour before them, and of the future, all inspired their 
minds with wisdom and their hearts with courage for that occasion. 

From their humble homes they had stepped forth, not to follow but to 
lead, not to listen but to speak, not to be taught but to teach mankind to 
be true to the highest demands of a free and independent spirit. It was 
to the voice of such assemblies as this that our fathers of the Revolution 
listened ; it was the wisdom of such assemblies that guided their councils, 
and gave the American people their greatness. 

WHAT TROOPS THEY RAISED. 

True to this spirit and inspired by this language, Dunstable continued 
to supply men to the army, voting, in 1777, "to raise men for the Conti- 
nental army," and also voting " not to allow those men tliat hired men 
into the Continental army for 1776, equal to others." It was also voted, 
March 5, 1781, "to allow the committee to procure beef for the army." 
Passing beyond this practical service, the town voted " to recommend the 
adoption of a state constitution," Oct. 3, 1776. In all these acts and declar- 
ations we cannot but be struck with the important position assumed by the 
towns in those early days, and the important part they performed: nor 
can we fail to look with profound interest on the intimate relations existing 
between the people and their representatives, and the power and persist- 
ency with which the popular voice was continually raised for the guidance 
and instruction of the rulers. In the war of 181 2 the town voted "that 
each soldier in the town of Dunstable that shall be called into tlie actual 
service of the United States shall be allowed, out of the town treasury, a 
sum sufficient to make his pay fifteen dollars per month for sucii time as 
he shall be so actually engaged, including the pay allowed by government." 



2g2 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 



THE CIVIL WAR. 

And when the country, to the foundation and independence and honor 
of which Dunstable had devoted herself through the generations of two 
centuries, was threatened with disruption, the spirit which had responded 
so warmly for independence roused itself at once for its safety and protec- 
tion. To the repose of peace your people had long been accustomed, so 
long that the front of war was almost unknown, even when presented in 
your midst ; but rising with the occasion, this little community decimated 
itself for the loyal armies, furnishing forty-three men to the country's 
service and appropriating more than $10,000 out of the treasury of the 
town for the support and comfort of the soldiers. The votes recorded 
in your town-books, commencing in July, 1862, with the offer of a bounty 
of one hundred dollars to each volunteer, and ending April, 1864, with a 
a vote increasing the bounty to one hundred and twenty-five dollars, mani- 
fest a patriotic calmness and devotion in the most trying hour of the war. 

CIVIL MATTERS IN THE TOWN. 

Towards the close of the Revolutionary war, the question of a consti- 
tution for the State of Massachusetts was submitted to the voters of the 
several towns in the commonwealth. In Dunstable a town-meeting was 
called on May 15, 1780. and adjourned to Tuesday, May 30, to consider 
the several articles of the constitution reported by the convention which 
had prepared it. The objections are so remarkable and significant that 
I shall lay them before you. as an illustration of the positive views and 
sentiments of those times. Joel Parkhurst having been chosen moderator 
in the place of John Tyng, Esq., who was unavoidably absent, " the meet- 
ing proceeded to consider the second and third articles, wherein they 
engage full protection to all denominations of Christians ; which sentences 
are so general as to engage protection to the idolatrous worshippers of 
the Church of Rome. The questions being put, there appeared twenty- 
three for an amendment, none against it. 

" The second o])jection was to the sixteenth article in said bill of right, 
as to the liberty of the press, as there being no restraint therein it maybe 
made up to the dishonor of God, by printing heresy and so forth, and 
injurious to private character. The question being put, twenty-six ap- 
peared for an amendment, none for the article as it now stands. 

"The third objection was to having so large a number of councillors 
and senators as forty, whereas twenty-eight, under the former constitution, 
tliey understood, answered every purpose required of that body ; upon the 
question there appeared twelve for an amendment." 

"Tiie fourth objection was relative to the governor's power of marching 
the militia to any part of the State, without the advice or consent of any. 
The amendment proposed was that when the governor should find it need- 
ful to march the militia from and about Boston more than one hundred 



1873] BI-CENTENNIAL ORATION. 2Q3 

miles, it should be by advice and consent of his council and not other- 
wise, and by the same advice and consent, to have full power to march 
them to the assistance of any neighboring State, in the recess of the 
General Court, when there appeared eleven for the amendment. 

" The fifth objection was to the appointment of all judicial officers, the 
attorney-general, the solicitor-general, all sheriffs, coroners, and registers 
of probate resting in the hands of the governor and council, but held it a 
right of the people at large to choose them; upon this question, seven for 
an amendment and six against it. 

" The sixth objection was to the declaration to be made and subscribed 
by the governor, lieutenant-governor, council, Senate and House of 
Representatives, before they proceed to execute the duties of their office, 
which is to declare themselves to be of the Christian religion, reasons 
offered for said objections were these, that thereby the government would 
be confined to Protestants ; upon the question there appeared nineteen 
for the amendment, and none in the negative. 

" The seventh objection was to the form of oath prescribed ; the amend- 
ment proposed was this : to place the words 'by the Living God,' taken 
in said oath as is required in His word ; thirteen for amendment." 

"The eighth objection was that the denomination of people called 
Quakers being admitted to office upon an affirmation without taking oath 
in manner and form as required of others ; upon the question, there 
appeared twelve for the amendment and none against it. 

" The ninth objection was to the time proposed for the revisal of the 
constitution if it should take place, but proposed to have this amendment, 
that precepts be issued by the General Court for a change of delegates 
for that purpose in seven years from this time ; the question was then 
put whether the town would approve of said constitution or form of 
government, if amended for substance as pointed out in this return, when 
there appeared thirteen in favor of it taking place, and not one to tlie 
contrary." 

I think it is evident that your ancestors believed in an economical gov- 
ernment, were opposed to military despotism and Caesarism, did not ap- 
prove of a powerful executive, had strong Puritan faith and no great 
love for Quakers or Catholics, and meant to make an oath as binding 
as possible. 

RELIGIOUS TEACHING. 

I have already stated that in the settlement of New England, religion 
was at the very foundation, and I have depicted to you some of the early 
struggles in this community to provide for the preaching of the gospel. 
The first meeting-house was erected in 1678, and was probably built of 
logs. In May, 1679, Rev. Thomas Weld was employed here as minister. 
He married Hannah, daughter of Hon. Edward Tyng. In 1684 a new 
meeting-house was erected, and he was ordained in December, 1685. The 
name of Jonathan Tyng heads the list of church members, Mr. Weld 



294 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

died in 1702, at the age of fifty, leaving a high reputation as a scholar and 
preacher. He was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Hunt in 1705, by Rev. 
Samuel Parris, of witchcraft fame, in 1708, by Rev. Amos Cheever in 1713, 
on a salary of £\o per year, by the Rev. Jona. Peirpoint in 1717, by Rev. 
Nathaniel Prentice in 1720. These clergymen were, many of them, 
graduates of Harvard, were firm in the Calvinistic faith, and exerted a 
good influence on the community. They exercised an exemplary economy 
in their modes of living, and they cultivated those qualities of mind and 
heart in their children which made the families of the clergy of that early 
day nurseries of many of the most useful, substantial, and reliable char- 
acteristics of the New England colonies. From the time to which I have 
alluded until our own day, the condition of church affairs here has been 
generally peaceable, and the temper of pastor and people has not been 
controversial. In fact, I find but one notable event, to which I can call 
your attention, and that is so interesting, so full of instruction and sound 
suggestion, such an illustration of that honesty and fidelity which become 
a public servant, that I desire to state it fully here. As recorded in your 
town-books, it is as follows : — 

" The committee chosen by the Town of Dunstable, at their last meet- 
ing, Sept. 2, 181 1, to represent to and consult with the Rev'd Joshua 
Hcywood respecting the state of public worship in the town, have attended 
to that service and'offer the following statement of the Rev'd Mr. Hey- 
wood as their report. 

"Zebedee Kendall "j 

MiCAH Eldredge ^ 

^T /- y Committee. 

Nathaniel Cummings | 

John Chaney j 

*' DuNSTAHLE, .Sept. 14, 1811." 
"To THF. InHAKITANTS OF THE ToWN OF DUNSTABLE : 

" Ce?itle//ien, — Whereas, your committee chosen by you in town meet- 
ing, the 2d of September, 181 1, have represented to and consulted with 
me on the situation of the town respecting public worship, and having 
represented to me that there are in the minds of many, apprehensions of 
pecuniary embarrassment, in consequence of an Act passed at the last 
session of the General Court of this commonwealth, relating to religious 
freedom, I do, with their advice and concurrence, make the following 
statement to you : — 

" As I did, in my answer to the call given me to settle as a gospel 
minister in this place, bring to your view the impropriety of making the 
stipulation between a people and their minister a matter of pecuniary 
speculation, and as you complied with it, I ever thought that we were 
bound on both sides never to do any such thing. I do, therefore, now 
most solemnly record my protest against it. 

"• But conceiving it to be the duty of a people and their minister to be 



1873] BI-CENTENNIAL ORATION. 295 

always helpful to each other under all difficulties and embarrassments, to 
perform this duty, therefore, toward you, now laborino; under apprehen- 
sions of embarrassments, I propose to you that provided the said Act of 
the General Court above mentioned, shall not be repealed, but be put in 
execution to your damage, so that your ministerial taxes shall be increased 
thereby upon the valuation of your estates, and provided there shall be a 
majority of the town, who will attend the public worship of God with the 
Congregational Church of Christ, as heretofore done in the house now 
built for that purpose, under the regular administration thereof, which, by 
Divine Providence, shall be provided, I will relinquish so much of my 
salary for the present year, as the increase upon their ministerial taxes 
shall be. The year to begin the ist of March, 181 1, and end the ist of 
March, 181 2. That no encouragement be taken herefrom to the damage 
of the town, I reserve the consideration of any relinquishment in future 
years, to my own judgment of the circumstances which may then exist. 

" My design and intent in this proposal and engagement, is to relieve 
the town from their present apprehensions and embarrassment, and to 
have them attend on the public worship of God in as orderly and regular 
a manner as they can under the present difficulties, and to prevent the 
introduction of such irregularities as would be to the damage of the town 
and church. If this proposal gives satisfaction to your minds and meets 
your approbation, and you use your endeavors to carry the things pro- 
posed into effect, then this instrument, by me signed, shall be in full 
force, otherwise it shall be void and of no effect. 

"Joshua Heywood. 

"Dunstable, Sept. 11, 1811." 

Although I find no recorded words of the clergy of Dunstable, no vig- 
orous appeals in great public crises, no contributions of theirs to the 
controversial literature of their day, I can still read in the popular charac- 
teristics of this town, in the unflinching courage and energy of your early 
ancestors, in the steady and long-continued rectitude of the public men 
here engaged in the councils of both town and State, in the constant 
recognition of the value of religion and education, — I can read in all this 
the salutary influence of a high-toned and pious succession of Christian 
ministers within your borders. But of none, either here or elsewhere, can 
higher praise be uttered than of Joshua Heywood, who, recognizing the 
burdens which pressed upon his people, declined toavail himself of any 
statute for his pecuniary advantage, refusing to make " the stipulation 
between a people and their minister a matter of pecuniary speculation," 
and appealing to their sense of honor to stand by that contract which he 
made with them, and they with him, in the beginning, even thougli it 
might be to his own loss. If the theology and ethics of this town have 
furnished this and this alone as their contribution to the best guiding 
principle of the land, then has it not been built in vain. I commend the 
conscience and temper'^&nd spirit of Mr. Heywood to all the pubHc ser- 



2n6 HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [l873 

vants of our land, high and low, to all who feel and know that a virtuous 
and honorable republic is the highest glory of man, and that a corrupt 
republic is his deepest shame. 

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 

I should not be doing justice to this town, and discharging my duty on 
this occasion in accordance with your best sentiments, did I fail to remind 
you of some, a few at least, of those men of mark whose names are inti- 
mately connected with your history. In all my recital of the important 
events in your earlier annals you must have noticed the prominence and 
importance attached to the name of Tyng, The founder of the family 
here was Hon. Edward Tyng, who died Dec. 28,- 16S1, aged eighty-one 
years. Col. Tyng was born in Dunstable, England, in 1600, settled in 
Boston as a merchant in 1639, ^'^^ representative in 1661 and 1662, assist- 
ant from 1668 to 16S1, and colonel of the Suffolk regiment. He left six 
children, two sons and four daughters. His sons were prominent in their 
day, and his daughters will be remembered as among the foremost women 
of their time ; Hannah having married Rev. Thomas Weld, a leading 
clergyman of this town and of the colony ; Eunice being the wife of 
President Willard, of Harvard College ; and Rebecca having married 
Gov. Dudley. Col. Tyng had the strength, energy, and courage of a 
leading and successful colonist, had enterprise enough to leave the Old 
World for the opportunities of the New, sagacity enough to become a dis- 
tinguished and prosperous merchant, and strength of character sufficient 
to found a family. He became possessed of lands in this town by early 
grants, and having acquired a fortune by commercial enterprise in his 
manhood, he had the wisdom to retire to the country to enjoy there the 
evening of his day. He gave the name to a town in his own honor, and 
in that town his ashes repose. Hon. Jonathan Tyng, the son of Col. 
Edward Tyng, was born Dec. 15, 1642, and died Jan. 19, 1724, aged 
eighty-one. It is said of him, " He was one of the original proprietors of 
the town, and the earliest permanent settler, having remained here alone 
during Philip's War, when every other person had deserted the settlement 
for fear of the Indians." He was a man of great energy and decision of 
character, and of probity and honor. He was one of the council of Sir 
Edward Andros, a royal commissioner under James II, a representative of 
this town and one of its selectmen. It was he to whom the garrisons of the 
town were intrusted during the Indian wars. Two of his sons, John and 
Eleazer, were graduates of Harvard College, and his daughter Mary 
followed the example of many of the attractive and accomplished young 
women of that day, and married the parish minister, Rev. Nathaniel 
Holden. Col. Tyng married Sarah, daughter of Hezekiah Usher, who 
died in 17 14. Rev. Thomas Weld, the first minister of the town, died 
June 9, 1702, aged fifty years. He was born in Roxbury, and was a 
grandson of Rev. Thomas Weld, the first miniver of that town, who 



1873] BI-CENTENNIAL ORATION. 297 

came from England in 1632. Mr. Weld, the subject of this notice, grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1671, and studied divinity with Rev. Samuel Danforth, 
and settled in Dunstable in 1678. He married for his first wife Elizabeth, 
daughter of Rev. John Wilson, of Medfield ; and for his second wife 
Hannah Savage, daughter of Hon. Edward Tyng. He was a man of 
great piety, and exerted an elevating influence on the community during 
his long ministry. He was a good i-epresentative of that class of men 
who in those days were educated at Harvard, stood by the church, and 
encouraged the schools, and who did so much to give New England that 
character of intelligence and integrity which she has not yet lost, and 
which has been carried by her sons into every corner of our land. 

Amos Kendall, an eminent lawyer and statesman, was born in Dun- 
stable, Aug. 16, 1789, son of Zebedee [Kendall] and his wife. He was 
occupied during his early life, until sixteen years of age, in work on his 
father's farm. His advantages for education were small, and it was not 
until he entered Dartmouth College, in 1S07, where he was graduated 
with the highest honors of his class, in 1811, that he was in arty way 
enabled to gratify his love of knowledge. Having taught school in various 
parts of Massachusetts, in order to defray the expenses of his education, 
and having studied law with William B. Richardson, Esq., of Groton, 
afterwards chief justice of New Hampshire ; he removed to Kentucky, 
was tutor in the family of Henry Clay, afterwards postmaster of Lexing- 
ton, Ky., and finally editor of the Argus of Westerfi America. While 
living in Kentucky, he did much to develop the common schools of that 
State, and established the school fund now in existence there. His 
ability as an editor and writer attracted the attention of President Jack- 
son, who, in 1S29, called him to Washington, where he was successively 
fourth auditor of the treasury department and postmaster general. He 
remained in public life until 1840, when he retired to the duties of his 
profession. 

Mr. Kendall was one of the clearest and most forcible writers of his 
day. His mind was directed by the warmest instincts for the people, and 
by a keen understanding of those doctrines of government which are based 
on popular rights and tend to preserve the popular virtue. His words 
were well known throughout our country, and to him was accorded the 
distinction of clothing the administration of President Jackson with many 
of its finest utterances and many of its noblest appeals. The character 
of Mr. Kendall was pure and admirable. Towards the close of his life he 
formed one of the attractions of Washington, where his mild, blue eye, his 
long, snowy hair, his delicate and slender form, his placid expression, were 
familiar to all,, and where his charming conversation was one of the great 
delights of the circle in which he moved. It was this delicacy of his 
moral and physical structure which prevented his being one of the most 
conspicuous, as he was one of the ablest and purest, personages in our 
history. 



298 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



[1873 



CONCLUSION, 

And now, friends and fellow-citizens, this brief story of your town is 
told. I have not explored the remotest recesses of your annals for marks 
of your eccentricity, or for those personal details which, while they amuse 
for the hour, make no appeal to those sentiments of pride and satisfaction 
which should fill the breast of every man who muses by the graves and 
studies the high qualities of his ancestors. I have not forgotten your 
errors, — the local controversies, the existence of slavery here when 
slavery existed everywhere, the shortcomings and the temporary irrita- 
tions ; but I have passed them by, and have endeavored so to deal with 
your history as to fill your minds with respect for your ancestors and 
with a determination to transmit, in more radiant form, the blessed institu- 
tions which you have inherited, to those whose duty it shall be to preserve 
them, and to celebrate them at the next centennial anniversary of the 
settlement of this town. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS, NAMES, AND PLACES. 



Abbot, Amos, page i8i ; John, 91. 

Acadians, 99. 

Accident, painful, 57, 86, 129, 166, 175, 
176, 199, 180, 1S3, 184, 1S8, 197-199. 

Account book, 144. 

Account of men in service, 13S-142. 

Acres, John, 17, 27, 28. 

Act of incorporation, 10. 

Action against the town, 109. 

Action of the town after division, 286. 

Adams, Daniel, 183 ; Darwin, 171, 183, 
186, 1S7 ; Ephraim, 75 ; Henry, 82 ; 
Judah, 234 ; J. Q., 19S ; Phineas, 
234 ; Ruth, 95 ; Samuel, 32, 63, 64 ; 
Solomon, 22 ; Stephen, 74, 75, 78, 
94 ; Thomas, 75, 95, 234 ; Zachariah, 

75- 
Addison, George, 75. 
Adeawanda, 50 ; Affray at Thornton's 

Ferry, 41. 
Agavvam, 37. 

Agricultural Library, 160. 
Aid for Bostonians, 115. 
Aiken, Peter, no. 
Alarm list, 1 18. 

Allen, W., 21, 22, 87, 136, 148. 
Alls, Jno., loi. 
Allston, W., I. 
Alton, N. H., 218. 
Amherst, Mass., 147, 168 ; N. H., 144, 

282. 
Ammunition provided, 108, 164. 
Amusements, 199. 
Anderson, Henry, 192, 
Andover, Mass., 44, 45, 47, 191, 224, 

228. 
Andrew, J. A., 188, 189. 
Andrews, Aaron, 172, 
Andros, E., 296. 
Anecdote, 91, 113, 114, 115, 129. 
Angle Meadow, 17, 100. 
Antietam, 193. 
Arlington, Mass., 217. 
Arnold, B., 120. 



Artillery company, 8, 282. 

Ashland, Ky., 220. 

Assault of Mohawks, 35. 

Astin, Abiel, 44 ; Zebediah, 45. 

Atherton, Jno., 264. 

Atkinson, N. H., 176. 

Attack on Dunstable, 35, 41. 

Attleborough, Mass., 33, 2i6. 

Auburn, N. Y., 217. 

Austin, F. D., 198, 202, 203. 

Ayer, Ebenr., 44. 

Ayers, Joseph, 102 ; William, 43, 45. 



B 



Baker, Betsy, 254 ; Emily, 254 ; Esau, 
192. 

Baldwin, Charles, 182, 185 ; Daniel, 
42 ; Jacob, 116, 125. 

Ballad on Lovewell's fight, 51. 

Ballon, Adin, 190 ; Hosea, 190. 

Balston, Nathaniel, loS. 

Bancroft, A. A., 226; Chloe, 152, 225 ; 
Ebenezer, 98, 108, no, 113-115, 119- 
121, 129, 141,151. -12, 214, 225, 233, 
234, 290 ; Elizabeth, 234 ; Hannah, 
234; Jonathan, 112, 129, 151, 234; 
Joseph, 212 ; Susannah, 143, 146, 
152, 225, 234; Timothy, 75, 77, 78, 
84, 87, lOI. 

Baptist Society, 157. 

Barnes' Brook, 61. 

Barnes, James, 192. 

Barron, Elias, 44 ; Jotham, 124 ; Tim- 
othy, loi ; William, loi. 

Barry, John S., 131, 136, 281. 

Barton, John, 122. 

Bath, Me., 224. 

Battle of Bunker Hill, 113-115. 

Bass-viol, opposition to, i6o. 

Baton Rouge, 193. 

Bay Psalm Book, 27, 29, 94, 145, 

Baylev, Eliphalet, 116, 118, 125, 127, 
132'; Sybil, 139. 

Beale, John,i7; Samuel, 17; William,i7. 



300 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Bean, Francis, 192. 

Ikar Pond, 1 1. 

Bernard, Francis, 107. 

I5eaver Brook, 1 1, 39, 76, 282. 

Becket, Mass , 198. 

Beckwith, Hiram, 190. 

Bedford, 103. 

Beef supplied to the army, 135, 137. 

Belknaj), Jeremy, 49. 

Bennett, James,' 78, 182, 184, 1S6, 226; 
Jonathan, 159, 162, 173, 175, 184, 
225; Joseph, 158; M. A., 185; 
Peter, iii ; vSarah, 225; Thomas, 
15S-160. 

Berlin, city of, 226. 

Berries, 71. 

Betterly, George, 159. 

Berwick, Me., 48. 

Bi-centennial celebration, 201-21 1. 

]5i.G;el()w, Timothy, 160. 

Billerica, Mass., 6-8, 10, 17, 23, 29, 31, 
32, 35, 44, 47, 49, 55, 56, 62, 85, 100, 
102, III, 113, 115, 125, 2S8 ; North, 2. 

Billings, William, 116, 145. 

Births, list of, 270-277, 

Biscake Brook, io6. 

Bishop, George, 112. 
Blanchard, 81, 289; Amos, 17S ; El- 
eazer, 235; Hannah, 36; John, 17, 
28, 30, 32 ; Jonathan, 233 ; Joseph, 
32, 37. 38, 39. 41. 76, 80, 9S, 214, 
232, 233 ; Lydia, 36 ; Nathaniel, 32, 
36; Ruth, 78; Susannah, 36; Thomas, 
32, 4f, 42, 78, 28S ; William, 75, 78. 
Black Brook, 61-63. 
Blake, Caleb, 156, 157. 
Blanchard's Hill, 67. 
]51ankets provided, 116. 
Blodgett, 55, 71; Abigail, 271; AbbyM., 
268; Bridget, 271 ; David, 271 ; Ezra, 
271 ; Frederick, 172, 214,268,271 ; 
George C, 182 ; George T., 98, 226, 
268 ; George Z., 226 ; Hannah, 268 ; 
Jacob, 271; James, 186; Jemima, 
74, 237, 269, 271 ; John, 118, 125, 
146, 186, 266, 26S, 271 ; John ¥., 
266; Jonathan, 271 ; Joseph, 49; 
Josiah, 56, 74, 75, 77, 84, 94, 97, loi- 
103, 105, no, 116, 119, 127, 130, 132, 
137. 159. 237, 268, 269, 271, 291 ; 
Josiah VV., 15S, 237, 268, 271 ; Lydia, 
271; Mahala A., 268; Mary, '235, 
268, 276 ; Mary A., 268 ; Matilda A., 
266 ; Olive, 237, 271 ; Prudence, 140 ; 
harah, 271 ; Sarah S., 266; Thad- 
deus, 172, 271 ; William, 56, 98, 
140, 270, 271 ; Zebulon, li^l' 118, 
125, 127, 155, 159, 166, 172, 186, 236, 
237, 258, 271, 276 ; Mrs. Zebulon, 65, 
71- 



Blodgett's Brook, 61. 
Blood, 71, 80, 81 ; A., 184; Abigail, 
94, 96, 229; Abraham, 171, 179; 
Adah, 277 ; Allen, 252, 277 ; Betsey, 
277 ; Caleb, T53, 159, 166, 172, 269; 
Charles, 264, 277 ; Eb'enezer, 173 ; 
Kber, 277 ; Eli, 277 ; Elizabeth, 77, 
277 ; Eunice, loS ; Ezra, 108 ; Han- 
nah, 108; Henry, 153, 159, 171-173, 
277; Isaac, 277; James, 137, 152, 
166, 173, 277; Jesse, 164, 171, 173, 
270, 277 ; Josiah, 108 ; Levi, 171, 
173, 277 ; Lucy, 277 ; Luther, 277 ; 
Mary, 166, 277 ; Miles, 185, 226, 
277 ; Nancy, 277 ; Nathaniel, 9 ; 
Noah, 184; Peter, 153, 166, 171, 
173, 277 ; Ralph, 277 ; Rebecca, 252, 
269 ; Reuben, 253 ; Robert, 72, 75, 
78, 84, 86, 91, 96, 103-105, 229 ; 
Rufus, 277 ; Sarah, 94, 108, 166, 252, 
253, 277; Sarah E., 199; Sarah G., 
253; Silas, 153, 171, 175, 252, 253, 
269 ; Silas W., 252 ; Simeon, 98 ; 
Susan, 277 5 Washington E., 137 ; 
198, 199, 201, 226, 227. 

Boston, 1-3, 5, 23, 24, 26, 29, 31, 34, 
43' 49« 59. 62, 7S, 86, 107, loS, 112, 
114, 115, r24, 147, 161, 168, 186, 283. 

Bowdoin, James, 135, 144. 

Boundary between Dunstable and Dra- 
cut, 39. 

Boiuidary between Dunstable and Gro- 
ton, 96, 100. 

Bounties on crows, 156; on wolves, 83. 

Bounties for soldiers, 132. 

Boutwell, George S., 1S3, 203, 209. 

Bowers, A., 185 ; Adelaide, 264 ; Al- 
])heus, 264 ; Eliza, 264 ; James, 225 ; 
John, 33 ; Joseph A., 264 ; Julia, 264. 

Bovvker, 183. 

Bradford, IVIass., 51, 226. 

Bradford, Alden, 196; Moses, 157. 

Brady, Frederick, 192. 

Brattle End, 7. 

Brattle Farm, 7, 8, 76, 77, loS. 

Brattle, Thomas, 5, 7-10, 12, 22, 26, 27, 
III, 2S3. 

Breed, Eliphalet, 151. 

Brentnal, 51. 

Brenton, Wm., 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19, 

56. 
Brentwood, N. H., 197. 
Brewer, Mr., 80, 81. 
Brian, Wm., 122. 
Bridgcmeadow Brook, 102, 104. 
Bridge, Eben'r, 113, 136; John, 142. 
Brigham, Abby A., 275 ; Edward D., 

275; Eliza C, 275 ; Levi, 171, 180- 

183, 186, 275 ; Mary, 275 ; Mary L., 

275- 



INDEX. 



301 



Briggs, Geo. N., 181, 1S3, 1S7. 

Brinley, 28 ; Robert, 212. 

Britain, Great, 119, 290. 

Brookfield, Mass., qo. 

Brookline, N. H., fi, 57, 68, 226, 2S2. 

Brooks, Edwin H., 226 ; Lawrence, 
186, 187, 226. 

Brown, 125; Jno., 118; Leonard, 269 ; 
Sam'l, 113, 117, 118, 125, 127, 237. 

Bruce, Jno., 144, 157; Michael, 174. 

Buck, John, 75. 

Buck Meadow, 62, 64, ill. 

Bulkley, John, 76; Peter, 12, 263. 

Bullard, Benjamin, 125 ; John, 156, 157. 

Bunker Hill, 113, 139-141, 147. 

Burhank, John, 42. 

Burdens of 2d Parish, 126, 127, 132. 

Burgoyne, John, 135, 139. 

Burial-place, 95, 148, 182, 1S7, 198. 

Burmah, 225. 

Burnap, Jacob, 183, 186; James T, 
72, 1S7-1S9, 197, 199, 205, 214. 

Burning of old church, iSi. 

Burrows, Charles, T92. 

Butler, Benjamin F., 188 ; Caleb, 32, 
48, 64, 82, 129, 144, 155, 220. 

Butman, Alpha, 265; Alvin, 265; El- 
bridge, 265 ; Geo. E., 265 ; Susan, 
265 ; Susan M., 265. 

Burying-cloth, 157. 

Butferfield, 7, 36 ; Abigail, 252, 277 ; 
Abner R., 151 ; Alice, 77; Asa, 171, 
186, 262, 277; Asa T., 182, 226; 
Asenath, 274 ; Benjamin, 98, 106, 
214 ; Catharine, 271, 277 ; Charles, 
217 ; Charles A., 263 ; David, 172 ; 
Dexter, 69, 72, 78, 91, 104, 112, 192, 
201-203, 226, 22S ; Ebene'r, 56, 7;^ 
86, 94, 97, 116, 118, 125, 127,270, 
273, 274 ; Edward, 112 ; Elizabeth, 
273 ; Esther, 273 ; Frederick, 274 ; 
Henry, 263 ; Jacob, 11 1 ; James, 123, 
274; Jesse, 112, 116, 118, 120, 125, 
127, 132, 142, 270 ; Joanna, 229, 271 ; 
Jolni, 230, 271, 273; Jonas, 116, 117, 
121, 125, 270, 273 ; Jonathan, loi, 
214 ; Joseph, 34, 39, 79, loi, 106, 
no, 146, 152, 172, 214, 273 ; Joseph 
P., 274 ; Leonard, in, 117, 118, 123, 
125, 127, 132, 141, 159, 173, 186, 214, 
229, 230, 252, 262, 263, 268-271, 277, 
289; Leonard S., 182, 186; Levi, 
129 ; Lucy W., 263 ; Mary, 252, 268, 
273,274,277; May A., 262; Martha, 
D., 216 ; Olive, 230, 269, 271 ; Pame- 
lia T., 262; Philip, 112, 116, iiS, 
120, 125, 132, 141, 155, 158, 159,268, 
270, 274 ; Polly, 274, 277 ; Rebecca, 
273 ; Reuben, loi, 106, 116, 119-121, 
129, 151, 214, 273, 289, 290; Rhoda, 



274; Sally, 159, 230; Samuel, 35, 
36. iiS, 122, 127, 270 ; Sarah, 252, 
270, 271, 273, 277 ; Welbe, 13^1 ; 
Wm., 76. 
Buttrick, Jno., 172 ; Sally, 216. 



Caldwell, John, 171. 

Call to Mr. Goodhue, 92 ; Mr. Hey- 

wond, 157. 
Cambridge, Mass., 28, in, 124-127, 

132, 139, i=;i, 2S5, 2S9. 
Canada, 35, 40, 42, 50, 120, 147. 
Cannon of discord, 148. 
Canton, N. Y., 217. 
Cape Breton, 79, 98. 
Captains, list of, 212, 213. 
Carkin, Albert B., 226 ; Amos, 1S6, 

226 ; Harrison, 192. 
Carter, Benj., 42 ; Michel, 159. 
Caulkins, F. M., 14. 
Cemetery, Central, 165-167, 173, iSi, 

1S2, 236, 237. 
Chamberlain, John, 44, 47 ; Thus., 74, 

"5- . 
Chambers, Matthew, 234. 

Chandler, Moses, nS ; Rhoda, 240; 
William, 240; William P., 240. 

Chapman, Davis, 159, 162, 165, 173, 1S5, 
270; E G., 84, 185, 226; Elijah, 162. 

Chaplin, David, 156, 157, 166. 

Character of the people, 71, 200. 

Character of Mr. Goodhue, log. 

Character of Mr. Goodman, 179. 

Charles I, 12. 

Charles River, 5. 

Charleston, S. C., 194. 

Charlestown, Mass., 115, 125, 175,201, 
250. 

Charlestown Grant, 7, 281. 

Chase, George W., 10. 

Cheever, Amos, 38; Alvin, 192. 

Chelmsford, Mass., 6, 7, 10, 16, 21-23, 
31. 34. 53. 55- 63. 70, 76, 77. 87, 106, 
124, 115, 136, 147, 167, 215. 

Cheney, Abigail, 275 ; Betsy, 275 ; 
Elizabeth, 250; 275; Emma J., 226; 
P'anny P., 267 ; Frances M., 267 ; 
Isaac, 275; John, 98, 112, n7, 126, 
128, 132, 137, 138, 140, 145, 159, 163, 
21^0, 275, 294; John B, 182, 226; 
Kendall, 162, 275; Luther, 275; 
Matilda. 267 ; Rebecca, 275 ; Rhoda, 
275 ; Sarah, 275 ; Susannah, 275 ; 
Thomas F., 98, 182, 1S4, 187, 18S, 
196, 199, 226, 267; William F., 226. 

Chesterfield, Mass., 147 ; N. H., 218. 

Chicago, 217, 226. 



302 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Chicopee, Mass., i8S. 

Child, L. M., 59. 

Choristers first chosen, 103. 

Church cove lant, 93 ; organized, 28, 93. 

Clark family, 202-204, 210. 

Clay, Henry, 220, 297. 

Cobiirn, Abel, 137; Caleb, 152; Dor- 
cas, 129; Eleazer, 152. 

Cockle, John, 1 12. 

Coffin, Enoch, 38, 39. 

Coggin, Mr., 145. 

Coggswell, William, 171. 

Collnirn, 55; Edward, 11, 30; Ezra, 
102 ; Isaac, 75, S3 ; James, 84 ; Jer- 
almeel, 112; Jeremiah, 82, 224; 
Oliver, 75, 87, 102; Samuel, 39; 
Thomas, 43, 232 ; Timothy, 82. 

Cold seasons, 144, 165, 168, 179. 

Cole, Anna, 7. 

Colesworthy, D. C, 73- 

College graduates, 216. 

Colonels, 214. 

Committee of inspection. III. 

Committee correspondence, 113. 

Committee of schools first chosen, 162. 

Compact of first settlers, 16. 

Concord, Mass., 19, 23, 44, 45, 47, 55, 
107, 113, 158, 203, 288. 

Concord, N. H., 17, 

Concord River, 17, 19, 20, 29, 32, 102. 

Confession of faith, 175. 

Connecticut, 123,284,285; River, 14S. 

Constantinople, 196. 

Contest as to meeting-house, 79. 

Contocook, 31, 45, 287. 

Converse, James, 31. 

Conway, Michael, 192. 

Coombs, David M., r72 ; Jonathan, 41, 
Samuel, 9. 

Cook, an Indian, 137 ; Andrew, 17 ; 
Francis, 283. 

Coojjer, Thomas, 108. 

Corey, Elsie, 159 

Cornet Band, 188. 

Cornvvallis, Lord, 137, 138. 

Cotton, Josiah, 92. 

Cowell, Edward, 7, 62, loS. 

Cowley, C'harles, 21. 

Cowpen Brook, 62, 96, 100. 

Crag Rock, 39. 

Cranmer, Archbishop, 13. 

Crockett, iVioses W., 254. 

Cromwell, John, 15; Oliver, 32. 

Cross, 55 ; Nathan, 41, 42, ?8S. 

Cummings, 35, 36, 55, 7i> 72,83,57; 
.\bigail, 76 ; .Abraham, 32 ; Allen, 
173, 186, 188, 214, 226, 276 ; Asenath, 
274; Betsey, 276; Catharine, 241, 
269; Charlotte, 276; Ebenezer, 41, 
42, 232, 2S8 ; Elizabeth, 94, 230, 249, 



274; Esther, 241, 269; Everett. M., 
226 ; Henry, 157 ; Isaac, 17, 162, 276 ; 
Isaac P., 182, 186, 226; Israel W., 
276; J., 185; James, 1 16, 1 18-120, 
125, 132, 138, 148, 158, 160, 186, 275, 
276; Jephtha, 201 ; Jeremiah, lOi, 
104, 159, 241, 24S, 274, 275; Joel, 
214, 268; John, 17, 27, 28, 32, 34, 
37,75-77,90, 94, 96, 108, 112, 116, 
118, 125, 128, 143, 151, 154. 159. 162, 
181, 214, 229, 230, 286; Mrs. John, 
185; John A., 226; Jonathan, 56; 
Josiah, 43, 117, 139, "15S, 177, 180, 
186, 212, 214, 240, 241, 259, 269, 275, 
276 ; Mrs. Josiah, 241 ; Josiah T., 
117, 138, 139, 186, 226, 240, 263, 276; 
Loraine, 276; Lucinda, 276; Lydia, 
274 ; Mary, 94, 275 ; Molly, 230 ; Na- 
thaniel, 8, 32, 56, 75-77. 147. 153' 
159, 160, 162, 163, 166, 226, 241, 269, 
275, 294; Mrs. Nathaniel, 144; Ol- 
ive, 276; Oliver, 115-119, 121-125, 
127, 138, 139, 143-145. 157. 166, 214, 
226, 241, 269, 275, 276; Poll}', 274, 
276 ; Rachael, 249, 274 ; Rebecca, 

240, 241, 259, 263, 269 ; Rhoda, 276 ; 
Samuel, 83, 85, 86, 94, 99, 103 ; Sa- 
rah, 28, 94, 240, 248, 249, 268, 269, 
273,274, 276; Sarah Ann, 240 ; Sim- 
eon, 116, 117, 121, 123, 125, 127, 160, 
161, 248, 249, 269, 273 ; Sybil, 166, 

241, 269, 275, 276 ; Thomas, 8, 17, 
28, 32, 56, 233 ; William, 44, 45. 56 ; 
William W., 195, 263. 

Currier, Warren, 193. 
Curtis, George W., 14. 
Cushing, Thomas, 137, 142. 
Cutler, Nathan, 215. 
Cuttah-huno-a-muck, 8. 



D 



Daglish, John J., 193. 

Dalyn, Simon, 193. 

Damon, Lucy, 269. 

Danburv, Coini., 123. 

Dane, William, 172. 

Danforth, Asa, 217 ; Caroline F., 226 ; 
Francis, 17S ; Jonathan, 8, 10, ir, 
62, 64, III ; Joseph, 77, 87, 90, 96, 
99, 101-103, loS, III, 117, 118, 125, 
128, 130-132, 14S, 152, 154, 289; 
Josiah, III, 116, 118, 125, 146, 151, 
154, 172,217; Rebecca, ill ; Samuel, 
39, III, 297 ; Vilas, 226. 

Danforth place, in. 

Dark day, 133. 

Darling, David, 172 ; David L., 226. 



INDEX. 



303 



Davis, Aaron, 172 ; Abbie L., 263 ; Abi- 
jah 184 ; Ancil, 193 ; Bridget, 261 ; 
Eleazer, 44, 48 ; Frances E., 261 ; 
Isaac, 181, 18S ; Jacob, 112 ; James, 
A., 193, 203, 226 ; John Joseph, 74 ; 
Josiah, 44, 47, 49 ; Joshua T., 1S2 ; 
Lydia K., 263; Mial, 180, 186; Moses, 
226, 261 ; Samuel, 26, 172 ; Susan, 
261 ; Thaddeus, 261 ; Thaddeus U., 
226, 263 ; William, 7, 125, 281 ; Wil- 
liam A., 226. 

Day, Luke, 147. 

Deacons chosen, 96, 215. 

Dean, John Ward, 2 ; Paul, 172. 

Death of Mr. Weld, 33 ; Mr. Prentice, 
57 ;- oldest person, iSo ; Joe Eng- 
lish, 36 ; Capt, Lovewell, 46 ; Silas 
Johnson, 166 ; Paugus, 47 ; Mr. Hey- 
wood, 167. 

Deaths, list of, 268-270. 

Declaration of Peace celebrated, 167. 

Dedham, Mass., 215. 

Dedication of meeting-house, 156, 17S. 

Deed of land for meeting-house, 154. 

Deerfield, N. H., 54. 

Denver, 217. 

Departure of praying Indians, 25. 

Dejireciation of currency, 136. 

Description of Dunstable, 14. 

Didson, John, 102. 

Dickinson, 89 ; Jonathan, 125. 

Dinah, 91. 

Dismembermen§of Dunstable, 55. 

Disruption at the Gulf, 64. 

Divoll. Charles R, 226 ; Ellen, 261. 

Dix, Joseph, 142, 143, 146, 152; Samuel, 
148. 

Donahue, Patrick, 193. 

Donation of Mrs. Winslow, 148. 

Dorchester, Mass., 126, 127, 168. 

Douley, Joseph, 193. 

Dover, N. H., 29, 30, 36, 287. 

Downing, James L., 226. 

Doyle, James, 193. 

Dracut, Mass., 11, 39, 50, 79, 82, 99, 
103, 124, 165. 

Drake, 18, 20 

Dram Cup Hill, 7, 10. 

Drinking customs, 144. 

Dudley, Joseph, 283, 296. 

Dunn, Anna, 266, 276 ; Edward, 116- 
118, 125, 266, 269, 276; Jane, 230, 
273 ; Mary, 273 ; Samuel, 230 ; 
Rachel, 273 ; Robert, 116, I18, 12:^, 
128, 156, 230, 273 ; Sally, 266 ; Wil- 
liam, 266, 276. 

Dunstable, England, 12, 13, 178, 282, 
296. 

Dunstable, N. H., 156. 

Durin, William H., 182, 185, 187. 



Duston, Hannah, 31, 45, 287. 
Dutton, Charles, 216; Jesse, n6, iiS, 
125, 128, 230; Polly, 230. 



E 



Earle, A. B, 221. 

Early manners and customs, 2S3. 

Early settlements, 5. 

Early settlers, 17, 283. 

Eastman, Amos, 159, 160. 

Eaton (Madison), N. H., 196. 

Eaton, Joseph, 73, 75, 78. 

Edwards, Thomas, 9. 

Eldredge, Almira, 275 ; Clifton B., 275; 
Erasmus D., 217, 218, 275 ; Frank 
A., 193 ; Frederick A., 217, 275 ; 
Hezekiah, 179, 216, 225, 275; Horace 
W., 275 ; Lucius O., 275 ; Mary A., 
275 ; Micah, 159, 162, 163, 169, 170, 
173, 175, 212, 215-217, 275, 294; 
Micah R., 275; Milburn F., 275; 
Olney, 275 ; Sally, 217, 275. 

Eliot, John, 18-21, '25. 

Emerson, Allen, 159, 274; Asa, 129 ; 
Daniel, 93, 95, 118, 156, 220 ; Han- 
nah, 230, 272 ; Jonathan, 1 18, 132, 
133. 142, 159. 164, 230, 241, 268, 
269, 272, 274 ; Joseph, 79, 87, 95 ; 
Lucinda, 274 ; Mary, 241, 274 ; Polly, 
274 ; Rachel, 274 ; Ro.xana, 269. 

Endecott, John, 12, 282. 

English, Joe, 35, 287. 

Epitaphs, curious, 42. 

Equipments of soldiers, 117. 

Erzeroom, 196. 

Essex, 50, 288. 

Estabrook, Benjamin, 166 ; Moses, 75 ; 
Thomas, 75, loi. 

Euered, John, 21. 

Eustis, William, 175. 

Evans, Benjamin, 122. 

Everett, Edward, 176, 177, 179, iSo. 

Expedition to Pequawkett, 34, 44, 

Expedition of John Lovewell, 43. 

Extract from Lovewell's Journal, 43. 

Fairbanks, Jabez, 41. 

Fales, Jesse, \']\. 

Falmouth, Va., 195. 

Families of Joint Grass, 83. 

Family of Danforth, iii. 

Farm of Z. Kendall, 222. 

Farmer, Aaron, 116, 118, 126; John, 
33- 34. 5'. 53. 259; Lucy, 259 ; 
Molly, 259. 

Farmington, Me, 142. 

Farnham, George, 277. 

Farnsworth, A., 185 ; Oliver, 95. 



304 



HISrOKY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Farrar, Edward, 193 ; Jacob, 44, 48, 
49 ; Joseph, 44, 112. 

Fast Day, 150. 

Farwell, 37, 289 ; Benjamin, 74, 71;, 87, 
loi, 102 ; Elcazer, loi, 129; Eliza- 
beth, 235 ; Henry, 17, 37, 43, 50, 56, 
75, 76, 1 14, 141, 214 ; Isaac. 41, 235 ; 
John, 129, 151, 217; Jonathan, loi ; 
Joseph, 37, 232 ; Josiah, 41-44, 47, 
48, 52, 76, 78, 288 ; Oliver, 42, 74, 
75, 90, 151, 28S ; Sarah, 235. 

Fay, William, 175. 

Ferry-l)oat, 102. 

Fife, Mr., 225. 

Plight at Pequawkett, 45. 

Finley, Michael, 193. 

First white settler, 15. 

Fish aljundant, 103. 

Fish, Ransom, 177. 

Fisher, Jabez P., 56, 156, 169. 

Flagg, Colonel, 49 ; John, [72. 

P'lat Rock Hill, 67, 69, 96, 100, 109. 

Fletcher, 71, 80, 81 ; Abigail, 247 ; Al- 
bert iVL, 226; Albert W., 193 ; Alice, 
245, 246, 264, 276; Anna, 245, 276; 
Betsy, 276; Caty, 246; Catharine, 
246;'Charles B., 218 ; Charlotte, 245, 
276; Daniel, 102, 122; David, 155, 
272; Elijah, loi, 113, 149, 172 ; Eliza- 
beth, ^^, 84, no, 178, 246, 268, 272 ; 
Elizabeth U., 273, 274; Ezra, 171 ; 
Francis, 70, 162, 176, 184, 199, 225, 
226, 230, 244, 245, 270, 272 ; George 
W., 17S, 182, 201, 214, 227, 258; 
Hannah, 244, 245, 270 ; Hannah P., 
245; Iiidiane, 276; Isaac, 217, 218, 
273 ; Jacob, loi, 289 ; James K., 277 ; 
Jane, 264, 276; Jonathan, loS, 116, 
122, 125, 126, 12S, 129, 131, 132, 137, 
138, 142, i53< 166,214,230,246,274; 
Joseph, 72, 83,90, 9r, 94, 96, 97, 100, 
103, loS, iro, n8, 128, 132, 152, 155, 
158, 159, 178, 199, 215, 217, 218, 246, 
247, 268, 273, 274 ; Leonard, 274 ; 
Lucinda, 246, 273 ; Lucy, 183, 246, 
268, 274, 276; Mark, 162, 165, 170, 
175, 178, 184, 214, 215, 217, 257, 
276; Mary B., 258; Molly, 218; 
Molly C, 273 ; Nancy C , 178, 257; 
Nathaniel, 147, 214, 244, 272 ; Patty, 
272; Paul, 34; Phincas, 116, 118, 
125, 155, 159, 161, 178,217,245,246, 
264, 276 ; Rachel, 146, 244, 269, 272 ; 
Rachel S., 270 ; Rebecca, 244, 272 ; 
Rhoda, 178, 184, 257, 270, 277 ; Rob- 
ert, loi ; Sally, 245 ; Sally A., 258, 
276; Samuel, 43, loi, 160, 270,274, 
277; Samuel M., 178, 217, 258; 
Sewall, 245, 276 ; Submit, 244 ; Su- 
san, 141, 230, 274, 277 ; Susan L., 



178; Thomas, 117, 118, 128, 146, 
199, 230, 244, 268, 272; William, 
230. 
Flint, Charles, 151. 
Ford, John, 115, 140. 
Foreigners as substitutes, 122. 
Forest Hill, 62, 68, 69, 77, 109, 166, 

186. 
Forest trees, 71. 
Fort Hi'l, 21. 

Fort Powncll, loS ; Wagner, 194. 
Fortifications, 78. 
Foss, Charles V., 193. 
Foster, Andrew, 56, 74, 75 ; E. B., 197 ; 

B. F., 218; John, 159. 

Fox, Capt., 124, 125 ; Charles J., 84. 

Frankfort, Ky., 220. 

Frederick, Tiiomas, 182. 

Frederick, Md., 195, 258. 

French, 71, 2S9 ; Abigail, 269, 274; 

Alice, 75; Benjamin, 72, 75, 114, 

140, 146, iSi, 182, i86-i88, 197, 198, 

201, 202, 214, 232, 277 ; Betty, 268, 

276 ; Bridget, 233, 234 ; Charlotte, 

139, 273 ; Ebenezer, 28, 41, 75, 98, 

104, 108, 112, 114, 116, 117, 128, 132, 

136, 140, 146, 157, 186, 229, 230, 268, 

269, 273, 288 ; Eleazer, 112, 114, 140, 

274 ; Elizabeth, 233 ; Esther, 76 ; 

Isaac, 233 ; James, 98 ; Jefferson, 

172 ; John, 28, s6, 72. 74, 75- 77. 78, 

112, 140, 159, 102, 2^0, 254, 26S-270, 

273, 276; John HJP254; John M., 

173; Jonas, 114, 116, 118, 125, 129, 

131, 139, 140, 14S, 151, t6o, 171,252, 

268, 270, 276 ; Jonas i [., 140 ; Jonas 

J., 270; Jonathan, 28, 114, 117, iiS, 

125, 128, 140, 232, 274 ; Joseph, 75, 

loi, lit, 233, 234 ; Joseph A., 252 ; 

Mary, 232, 270 ; Mary D., 230, 269 ; 

Martha, 252, 270 ; Molly, 232 ; Polly, 

276; Samuel, 17, 28, 32-34, 75, I14, 

116, 118, 125, 128, 140 ; Sarah, 140, 

229, 254, 268, 273 ; Susan Y., 254 ; 

Susanna, 230, 269, 273 ; William, 28, 

75, 112, 117, 118, 125, 128, 186, 270, 

276 ; William L., 227. 

Frost, Ebenezer, 172; Salathiel, 129; 

Thomas, 56, 75. 
Frothingham, K., 112. 
Frve, James, 47 ; Jonathan, 44-48, 53, 

288, 289. 
Fryeburg, Me., 47, 48, 2S9. 
Fullam, Jacob, 44, 47, 49, 53- 



G 

Gage, Thomas, 107. 

Gale of September, 181 5, 16S. 



INDEX. 



305 



Galusha, Daniel, 32, 34, 36 ; Rachel, 

36. 
Garland, D. W., 1S6. 
Garrisons, 21, 37. 
Geology and mineralogy, 69. 
George III, 113. 
Gerry, Elbridge, 160. 
Gettysburg, Pa., 195. 
Gibbs, Robert, 9. 
Gibson, Nathaniel, 172. 
Gile, Truman, 264 ; Zerviah, 264. 
Gilman, Josiah, 190. 
Gilson, Alvah, 1S6, 227 ; Andrew J., 
227 ; Asahiel, 227 ; C., 186 ; Daniel, 
129 ; Eagen J., 260 ; Ebenezer, 186 ; 
George F., 227 ; Isaac, 164 ; James 
H., 193, 227 ; Jerome F., 227 ; Joel, 
182, 185, 227, 261 ; John, 45, 98 ; 
Joseph, 45^ 98; Louisa, 261 ; Lucien 
E., 261 ; Nathaniel, 171 ; Nathaniel 
W., 314 ; Nehemiah, 153, 162, 164, 
172; Oliver, 163; Peter, 159; Sam- 
uel, 184 ; William, 182. 
Girardeau, Cape, 261. 
Glenne, William, 112. 
Glynn, Moses, 172. 
Goffe, John, 45, 98, 289. 
Goldsmith, Oliver, 59. 
Goodhue, Ebenezer, no, 272; Eliza, 
no, 272; Elizabeth, 94, 229, 272; 
Joseph, no, 272, 229; Josiah, 92, 
94, 95, loi, 102, 104, 109, no, nS, 
126, 171, 217, 229, 272; Nathaniel, 
no; Samuel B., no, 212. 
Goodman, Eldad W., 171, 178, 179. 
Goodsell, Dana, i8o. 
Gook, George, 227. 
Gookin, Daniel, 21. 
Gordon, James, 90 ; William, loi, 102, 

104, no, ni, 143, 289. 
Goss, Elbridge H., 134; Joseph W., 

227. 
Gould, David, 152; Margaret, 53; 
Noah M., 129; Samuel, 17, 29, loi. 
Gray, Thomas, 89. 
Grant of Thomas Brattle, 7. 
Grants to early settlers, 6. 
Grantville, Mass., 147. 
Great Britain, 132, 143. 
Great Naacook Brook, 62. 
Greeley, 55 ; Jane, 234 ; Samuel, 234. 
Green, Hannah P., 257 ; Oliver, 116, 
118 ; Rufus K., 257 ; Samuel A., 31 ; 
Sarah A., 257. 
Greenwood, Y. W. P., 106. 
Grist mill, 32. 
Guide posts, 1S9. 

Gulf at Massapoag Pond, 32, 61, 63-65. 

Groton, Mass., 6, 9, 10, n, 22, 26, 28, 

31. 32, 35. 41. 44, 45. 47, 4^, 50, 59, 



62-64, 67, 68, 76-87, 96, 98, 100, 107, 
108, n4, 129, 137, 152, 155, 156, 160, 
166, 172, 175, 283, 288, 297. 
Groton famiHes set olf to Dunstable, 85. 



H 

Haddock, John, 102, 151. 
Hale, Henry, 1S2 ; Salma, 40. 
Haley, Edward, 227. 
Half-way covenant, 95. 
Hall, Ira, 183, 185, 214, 227; Ira B., 
198, 199, 201, 227 ; Willard, 87, loi, 

'33- 
Hamblett, John, 102; Susannah, 14^. 

Hampton, N. H., 217. 

Hancock, John, 135, 137, 138, 142. 

Hannibal, 148. 

Hardy, Betty, 274 ; Daniel, 274; Han- 
nah, 274 ; Jesse, 274 ; Job, 274 ; 
Lydia, 274 ; Miriam, 268, 274 ; Moses, 
n6, n8, 125, 128, 268, 269, 274; 
Polly, 274 ; Sarah, 274 ; Simeon, 274; 
William, 159, 274. 

Harrington, Richard, 162, 

Harrison, Gen., 165. 

Hartford, Conn., 260. 

Hartshorn, Levi, 168. 

Hartwell, Alonzo, 193; O., 269; Ra- 
chel, 269; Warren, 193. 

Harward, S3 ; John, 44, 47, 49, 98 ; 
William, S, 32. 

Harvard, Mass., 83 

Harvard, Charlotte, 233 ; Jonathan, 233. 

Hassell, Anna, 30 ; Benjamin, 30, 44, 
49; Joseph, 17, 28, 30, 32, 34, 35, 
2S7 ; Richard, 35. 

Hatfield, Mass., 147. 

Haunted House, 23. 

Haverhill, Mass., 6, 43, 45, 2S7, 288. 

Hayward, John, 181. 

Haywood, Jemima, 95 ; John, in; 
Susannah, 84. 

Hazen, Richard, 7^//. 

Heads of families in 169S, 32 ; in 1856, 
184. 

Heath, William, 124. 

Hemenway, Phineas, 95. 

Henley, Col., 124". 

Henchman, Thomas, i6, 22, 29-31, 212. 

Henry I, 12; Henry VIII, 13. 

Heroism of the town, 286; of Jonathan 
Tyng, 23. 

Heywood, Joshua, 157, 161, 163-167, 
171, 176, 212, 245, 269, 294, 295. 

Hickey, James, 193. 

Higby, Christopher, 122. 

Hill, 55; Isabella, 218; Enoch, 234; 
Nathaniel, 49; Ruth, 234. 



3o6 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Hills of Dunstable, 67. 

Hinds, Hiram H., 193. 

Hitten, Isaac, t22. 

Hoar, E. R., 203, 209. 

Hobbes, George, 193 ; Nancy, 254, 270. 

Hogg, io6. 

Holbrook, Silas P., 195. 

Hoklen, Jonathan, 106; Mary, 152 ; 
Nathaniel, loS, 111-113, 116, 120, 
124, 129, 142, 149, 151, 215, 289. 

Hollis, N. H., II, 57, 60. 67, 68, 83, 84, 
93, 142, 156, 215, 220, 282. 

Holyoke, Eliziir, 92.__— , 

Hooper, William, 190. 

Hopkinton, Mass., 147. 

Horse Hill, 68. 

Hound Meadow Hill, 68 

Houston, Catharinah, 235 ; Ovid, 143, 

235- 
Hovey, James P., 150. 
How Dunstable was formed, 2S3. 
Howard, Nathaniel, 30 ; Samuel, 75, 

78, 102, 234 ; Thomas, 56, 75. 
Howard's or Holden's Brook, 27, 30, 

36, 61, 62, 76, 78, III, 215. 
Howe, A. VV., 117, 183, 216, 263; 

Harry D., 263 ; M. D., 263. 
Hubbard, William, 168. 
Pludson, Charles, 278. 
Hudson, N. Y., 7, 11, 55, 282. 
Hulbert, Ebenezer, 45. 
Hunt, Israel, 171, 203, 210 ; Samuel, 

38, 294. 
Hunter, George, 193. 
Hutchinson, Amos, 173; Elisha, 26, 

283; Thomas, 12, 19. 



Incorporation of Dunstable, 10. 

Incorporation of Hollis, 57. 

Indian massacres, 36. 

Indian mortar, 18. 

Indian pow-wows, 21. 

Indian relics, 65. 

Indians of Massachusetts, 17. 

Indians' mode of life, 17. 

Industrial condition of Dunstable in 

1865, 191. 
Ingalis, Abigail, 275 ; Daniel, 171, 275; 

Eleazer F., 171, 275 ; Huldah, 275 ; 

James, 162, 172, 275 ; Joel, 275 ; 

John, lOi, 157, 275 ; Joseph, 172, 

275; Mary, 275; Nathaniel, 129; 

Sally. 225, 275. 
Inscriptions on Meeting-House Hill, 

22S-231. 
Inscriptions in the Tyng burial-place, 

231- 



Inscriptions at Little's Station, 232- 

235- 

Inscriptions in cemetery, near A. Swal- 
low's, 235. 

Inscriptions in Central Cemetery, 236- 
268. 

Installation of Mr. Adams, 183. 

Installation of Mr. Goodman, 178. 

Installation of Mr. Jackson, 18S. 

Installation of Mr. Tolman, 175. 

Instructions to representatives, 119. 

Introduction of the potato, 87. 

Ipswich, Mass., 37. 



Jackson, Abbie I., 197 ; Andrew, 167, 
220, 297 ; Charlotte E., 197 ; Edward 
P., 194, 197 ; Florence C, 197 ; 
George W., 197 ; Julia S., 197 ; Mary 
R, 197 ; William C, 171, 188, 196. 

James II, 296. 

Jaques, Daniel H., 67, 129, 142 ; Han- 
nah, 142. 

Jaquish, Josiah, 194. 

Jaquith, Abigail, 270 ; Adford, 75, 77, 
87,91, 94, loi, 109, 118, 128, 230, 
270 ; IJenjamin, 116, 118, 122, 125, 
128, 270 ; Daniel, 172 ; Elizabeth, 
270 ; Hannah, 270 ; John, 270 ; Mar- 
garet, 230, 270 ; Mary, 270 ; Re- 
becca, 270 ; Sarah, 270. 

Jefts, John, 44, 47, 49. 

Jeremie's Hill, 11. 

Jewell, Benoni, loi ; Caleb G., 261 ; 
James, 8, loi ; Nathaniel, 80, 81 ; 
Thomas, 8, loi. 

Jewett, A., 186, 188, 227 ; David, 171 ; 
Enoch, 118; John W., 182. 

Jilson, Joel, 184. 

Joe, English, 32, 36. 

Johnson, 42, 289 ; Abel, 164, 171, 215, 
227 ; f^dward, 6, 281 ; Ephraim, 171, 
245, 277 ; George, 171 ; Ichabod, 
44, 47, 49 ; Isaac, 7 ; Jesse, 171, 182, 
215,277; Josiah, 44; Lucy, 277; 
Noah, 44, 56 ; Rebecca, 166, 245, 
270, 276 ; Silas, 159, 166, 245, 269, 
270, 276. 

Joint Grass, 78, 80, 81, 83-85, 87, 218. 

Joint Grass Brook, 61. 

Joliffe, John, 9. 

Jones, Cormely R., 194 ; Josiah, 44, 
48. 

K 

Kahoe, Michael, 194. 
Kanapa.tunc, 7. 



INDEX. 



307 



Kateley, J. H., 186. 

Katharine of Arragon. 

Keene, N. H., 28. 

Kelleiky, James, 194. 

Kemp, Hiram, 172, 201 ; T. N., 185 ; 

I. W., 185; Levi, 172 ; W. N., 201, 

227, 
Kendall, 91 ; Abigail, 23S, 269, 272, 

276 ; Abraham, 74, 75, 92, 94, 96, 99, 
102, loS, iiS, 121, 123, 126, 128, 131, 
132, 143, 144, 154, 220, 229-231, 251, 
268, 270, 275 ; Alice, 272 ; Almon 
M., 227 ; Alvah, 264 ; Amanda, 225, 
277; Amos, 76, 208, 212, 217, 220, 
222-224, 275, 297 ; Andrew, 269 ; 
Andrew T., 182, 227. 238, 276 ; Anna, 
272; Ann M., 264; Asa, 102, 115, 
117, 121, 270, 272 ; B , 173 ; Benja- 
min, 160, 272 ; Bets)-, 264 ; Caroline 
P., 25S ; Catharine, 225, 272 ; Charles, 
23S, 276; Chiles, 175, 183, 186, 215, 
227, 277 ; Cummings, 276 ; Daniel, 
56 ; David, 56, 272 ; Deborah, 232, 
272 ; Ebenezer, 74, 75, 78, 80, Si, 86, 
90, 92, 94, 99, 216, 220, 237, 268, 270, 
2S6 ; Edward, 99, 103, 117, 118, 122, 
126, 128, 166, 220, 237, 269, 272 ; 
Elizabeth, 225, 237, 250, 268, 272, 

277 ; Ellen E., 226 ; Elmina, 277 ; 
Elmira, 166, 258 ; Esther, 272 ; Ezra, 
272 ; Francis, 220 ; George M., 275 ; 
Oilman, 264; Hannah, 94, 237, 251, 
268-271, 275 ; Hannah A., 251 ; Han- 
nah J., 260 ; Harriet L., 264 ; Heze- 
kiah, 112, 270; Hiram G., 260; 
Hiram R., 195 ; Isaac, 125, 147, 183, 

185, 214, 227, 251, 263, 270, 272, 275, 
276 ; Jacob, 8, 56, 103, 116, iiS, 123, 
126, 128, 137, 138, 144-146, 153, 1S6, 
220; James, 227, 272, 276; James 
M., 260 ; Jane, 231, 269 ; Jeremiah, 
238, 272 ; John, 56, 74-76, 78, 84,91, 
96, 108, 109, 117, 118, 126, 128, 140, 
173, 181, 186, 215, 220, 228, 231, 232, 
251, 264, 269, 271, 272, 275 ; Jonas, 
158, 162, 166, 186, 1S8, 215, 224, 22s, 
258, 277 ; Jonas C, 188, 202, 203, 
227 ; Joseph, 159, 162, 272 ; Joseph 
H., 237, 270 ; Josiah, 159, 264, 272 ; 
Lavina, 276; Leonard, 160, 171 ; 
Lucy, 272; Madison, 276; Mary, 251, 
253, 272 ; Mary A., 263 ; Mary W., 
264 ; Molly, 220, 251, 252, 270, 275 ; 
Nathaniel, 272; Nathaniel C, 72, 173, 

186, 227, 264 ; Olive, 13, 238, 258, 
272, 277 ; Olive C. B., 180, 224, 258, 
272, 277 ; Oliver, 272 ; Pattv, 253 ; 
Peter, 164, 180, 181, 186, 1S7, 212, 
260, 276; Mrs. Peter, 65 ; Picrpont, 
272 ; Prudence, 140, 238, 257, 276 ; 



Rachel, 264 ; Ralph, 220 ; Rebecca, 
276 ; Relief, 272 ; Rhoda, 272, 276 ; 
Ruth, 94, 229 ; Samuel, 159, 162, 164, 
253, 275 ; Sarah, 237, 251, 258, 269, 
272, 275-277 ; Sarah Jane, 264 ; 
Stiles, 276 ; Susannah, 94, 225, 231, 
272; Temple, 86, 99, 109, no, 116, 
116, 123, 126, 128, 132, 133, 140, 142, 
146, 159, 171, 172. 175, 178, 179, 220, 
225, 238, 257, 268-270, 272, 276 ; 
Thomas, 220; Timothy, 251, 275; 
Timothy A., 251, William, 122, 1S5, 
227, 270 ; Zebedee, 76, 112, 116, 118, 
125, 128, 140, I43> 148, 149. 153. 155. 
158, 159, 163, 165, 170, 215, 220, 222, 
223, 251, 252, 272, 275, 294, 297. 

Kendall Green, 221. 

Kensington, N. H., 217. 

Keyes, Ann, 238 ; D. P., 227 ; Joel, 160, 
162, 175, 185, 217, 238, 262 ; J. W., 
217 ; Jonathan, 269 ; Levi, 162; Mary, 
238; Peabody, 162, 194, 269; Phoebe, 
217; Polly, 238; Samuel P., 194; 
Solomon, 44 ; Sophia, 238. 

Kidder, 156; Benjamin, 44, 45; Dor- 
othy, 106 ; Frederic, 32, 48, 49 ; 
James, i >6. 

Kimball, Henry, 7; 9, 10, 39, 282. 

King William's \Var, 29. 

Kingsbury, E. P., 197, 198. 

Kingston, U. C, 176. 

Kittridge, Jonathan, 44, 47, 49. 

Knapp, James, 9. 

Knights, Isaac, 194 ; Richard H., 195. 

Kyle, Jane, 221. 



Labors of John Eliot, 18. 

Lafayette, 137. 

Lake Champlain, 120, 140. 

Lake George, 77, 98, 180. 

Lakin, Isaac, 44 ; William, 9, 10. 

Lancaster, Mass., 17, 22, 29, 31, 34, 50, 

57, 232. 
Landeree, Elizabeth, 99 ; Jane, 99 ; 

Mary, 99 ; Mary M., 99 ; Peter, 99 ; 

Sarah, 99. * 

Lane, Anna, 281. 
Larkin, Amos, 182. 
Lawrence, So, 81 ; Asa, 162 ; Daniel 

H., 171 ; Hannah, 154 ; Isaac, 153 ; 

Nathaniel, 153, 156 ; S. A., 185. 
Lechford, Thomas, 73. 
Lempster, N. II., 176. 
Lenox, Mass., 224. 
Letter of Gov. Stoughton, 31, to Col. 

Tyng, 50. 
Letters of James Cuninungs, 120. 



308 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Levy of shirts, shoes, and stockings, 

132. 
Lewis, John, loi ; Reuben, loi, 112, 

120 ; Thomas, 172. 
Lexington, Mass., 113 ; Ky., 297. 
Lincoln, Benjamin, 100, loi, 147, 14S. 
Lincoln, Mass., 147, 188, 196, 197. 
Line between Massachusetts and New 

Iiani]oshire established, 73. 
Lingfield, Edward, 44. 
Lining out of hymns, 145, 153. 
Litchfield, 6, 11, 56, 282. 
Littlehale, John, loi. 
Little Naacook Brook, 61, 76. 
Littleton, Mass., 17, 83, 215. 
Little's Station, 42, 57, 232. 
List of soldiers, 117. 
London, Eng., 28. 
Londonderry, N. H., 55, 67 ; 82, 282, 

288. 
Long Hill, 53 ; Island, 121 ; Pond, 11, 

39- 
Long, Zachariah, 9. 
Longfellow, 11. W., 5, 99. 
Loring, G. B., 202-204, 210, 278, 279. 
Lossing, B. J., 137. 
Louis XIV, 33. 
Louisburg, 98. 
Lovcring, Horace, 184. 
lyovejoy, Daniel, 246, Polly, 246, Polly 

C, 246. 
Lovewell, 55 ; Esther, 233 ; Hannah, 

41, 49, 50 ; John, 17, 30, 32, 33, 40, 

42-54, 76, 215, 287, 288, 289, 291 ; 

Jonathan, 76, 84 ; Joseph, 17, 55 ; 

Mary, 233; Nehemiah, 49; Noah, 

233 ; Zaccheus, 32, 43, 214, 233. 
Lovewell's fight, 44-50, 288. 
Lovewell's Pond, 43, 45, 288. 
Lowell, Mass., 21, 59, 68, 197, 225. 
Lowell, Rebecca C, 257 ; S. B., 257 ; 

Sarah E., 257 ; Sarah L., 257. 
Luce, Abraham, loi ; James, 102 ; R. 

E., 226. 
Lund, Hannah, 233 ; John, 233 ; Levi, 

171 ; Oliver, 235 ; Thomas, 17, 28, 32, 

34, 37, 41, 42, 288 ; William, 42, 171. 
Lunenburg, Mass., 83, 232. 
Lyndon, Vt., 218. 

I-ynn. 33- 

Lyons, Thomas, 194. 



M 

Madison, James, 167. 
MacLcIlan, I., Jr., 106. 
Madison's war, 164. 
Maiden, Mass , 134. 
M.ilignant lever, 165, 166. 



Manchester, N. IL, 45. 

Manning, John, 112. 

Ma]) of Dunstable, 80. 

Marble, Ebenezer, 182. 

Margaret, a servant, 102. 

Marks, Mary, 30 ; Peter, 30. 

Marlborough, Mass., 31, 144, 147. 

Marsh, 55; John, 112, 117, 118, 126, 
128. 

Marshall, Benjamin, 269, 270 ; Betsy, 
139; Elizabeth, 270; Clement, 185, 
227 ; Freeman VV., 183 ; George E., 
194; Silas, 153; Thaddeus, 172. 

Masconnomet, 37. 

Mason, N. H., loS, 154, 224. 

Massacre of the Hasstll family, 30. 

Massapoag Pond, 7, 11, 28,32,61,62, 
64-66, 68, 70, 77, 91, 96,98, 100, 103, 
108, 156, 175, 187, 199. 

Maxwell, Francis B., 171. 

Mayo, Willard M., 194. 

Medfield, Mass , 27, 297. 

Meeting-house in First Parish, 89. 

Meeting-house in Second Parish fin- 
ished, 27. 

Meeting-house, Orthodox, erected, 177. 

Meeting-House Hill, 77, 78, 95, 97, 99, 
141, 154, 198, 228. 

Melvin, iJavid, 44 ; Eleazer, 44. 

Members of the church, 94. 

Men liable to serve as soldiers, 182 ; 
drafted, 122-124. 

Merrill, 55; John, 129; Nathaniel, 56. 

Merrimac, N. II., 11, 56, 183, 282. 

Merrimack River, 5-7, 9-1 1, 14-17, 19, 
21-25, 28, 30, 31, 34, 39, 41, 50, 5q, 
56, 61-63, 68, 82, 84, 90, 91, 102, 103, 
106, 107, iir, 131, 133, 142, 152, 161, 
197, 2S1, 282, 2S7. 

Miantonimo, 18. 

Middlesex Canal, 161 ; County, 6, 50, 
59, 61, 157, 181, 184, 209, 282. 

Milford, N. H., II, 282. 

Mill of William Gordon, 102. 

Milledgeville, Ga., 218. 

Miller at the Gulf, 64. 

Mill Stone Meadow, 77. 

Mine Falls, 41. 

Mineral Spring, 70, 187. 

Ministers, succession of, 17 1. 

Minneapolis, Minn., 217. 

Minot, Col., 80, 8i ; Timothy, 92. 

Minute-men chosen, 112. 

Mitchell, Ann, 139; Nancy, 267. 

Modes of living, 284. 

Mohawks, 21, 288. 

Monadnock Mount, 68. 

Money voted for a school, 82. 

Money paid for preaching, 92. 

Moiiticello, Ga., 218. 



INDEX. 



309 



Montreal, 9S. 

Moore, 34, 106; O. C, 20^;; Stephen, 

182. 
Morse, John, g ; Samuel F., 221. 
Morton, Marcus, 179-181. 
Moseley, Samuel, 24. 
Mount Ho]')e, 24. 
Mount Vernon, 144. 
Mudge, Alfred, i. 
Murphy, Hattie J., 226. 
Murray, Michael, 194. 
Muscatanapus Pond, 11. 
Music in church, 103, 145, 153, 158, 

160, 175, 1S7, 223. 
Music, military, 116. 
Muster at Concord, 158. 



N 



Names of original proprietors, 9. 
Names of early residents, 17. 
Names of members of 2d Parish, lor. 
Names of men killed at Thornton's 

Ferry, 42. 
Napoleon, 14S. 
Narragansett, 16S ; fight, 7. 
Nashaway Indians, 17. 
Nashobas, 17, 18. 
Nashua, N. H.. 11, 18, 58, 59, 61, 65, 

66, 68, 76, 1S2, 185, 203, 210, 2 1 6, 

245, 282. 2S3. 
Nashua River, 6, 8, 14, 41, 59-62, 68, 

69, 80-82, 84, 103, 156, 182, 184, 281. 
Nashua, A. & B. R. R. opened, 199. 
Nashville, N. H., 57, 282. 
Nason, E , i, 202. 
Natchez, Miss., 260. 
Natick, Mass., 103. 
^ Naticook, 15, 28, 41, 56, 76. 
Naticook Brook, 6. 
Naticook Indians, 11, 17. 
Natural scenery of Dunstable, 69. 
Neff, Mary, 31. 
Nelson, N. H., 224. 
New Brunswick, 176. 
Newbury, 52, 38. 
Newburyport, 224. 

New England Confession of Faith, 133. 
New Hampshire, 40, 57, 73, 79-81, 84, 

85, 134, 156, 281-283, 286, 2S7, 297. 
New Ipswich, N. H., 203, 220. 
New Jersey, 127, 139. 
New Orleans, 167, 194. 
Newport, 131, 132. 
Newton, Mass., 19, 198. 
New York, 6, 120, 126, 127, 134, 136, 

258, 281. 
Nichols, Capt., 85. 
Nissilisset, 57. 



Nissitisset Mills, 41, 62. 

Nissitisset River, 14. 

Nobstow, 21. 

Nonantum, 19. 

Nonatomenut, 21. 

Norman kings, 13. 

Norridgewock, 35, 40, 2SS. 

Northampton, 147. 

North Andover, 2S9 

Notice of tax-payers in 1744. 76-79. 

Notice of Capt. John Lovewell, 49. 

Notice of Danforth family, in. 

Notice of Wm. C. Jackson, 196, 197. 

Notice of E. D. Eldredge, 217. 

Notice of Isaac Fletcher, 218-220. 

Notice of Amos Kendall, 220-224. 

Notice of S. H. Tolman, 224. 

Notice of John Woodward, 165. 

Notice of John Spaulding, 224. 

Notice of Proctor family, 177. 

Nottage, Lizzie, 226. 

Nottingham, 55, 56, 80, 81, 83, 84, 140, 
282, 286. 

Numphow, 19. 

Nutfield, N. H., 44, 45. 

Nutting, Abigail, 262 ; Ebenezor, loS ; 
Jemima, 77 ; Levi M., iSS ; Nar- 
cene, 18S ; Philinda, 188; Sclh, 262. 

Nutting Hill, 41, 61, 68. 



o 



Oath of office, 103. 
Old houses, 72. 
Oliver, Joel M., 1S3. 
Opposition to Mrs. Winslow's dona- 
tion, 94. 
Oration of Geo. B. Loring, 279. 
Ordination ©f Mr. Lawrence, 153. 
Ordination of Mr. Brigham, iSo. 
Ordination of Mr. Hey wood, 157. 
Ordination of Mr. Kingsbury, 197. 
Ordination of Mr. Goodhue, 94. 
Ordination of Mr. Swan, 57, 
Orthography, curious, 74. 
Osborne, Prescott E., 194. 
Osman, David, 122. 
Ossipee, 45. 
0-;sipee Lake, 45, 48, 
Otis, H. G., 175. 
Otis, James, 100. 
Overseers of the poor, 146. 



Packenham, 167. 

Page, P.etsy, 268 ; Danirl, 182 ; Da- 
vid H., 194 ; Ednuind, 162, 165, 171, 



310 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



172, 175, 185, 268 i Harriet, 26S 
William H., 277. 

Paine, H. W., 169. 

Palfrey, 281, 2S4. 

Palmer, Mass., 147. 
^Parkhurst, 56, 71 ; A., 1S5 ; Abigail 
/ 261, 262, 269, 276 ; Addison B., 2t;9 
Albert L., 65, 76, 182, 192, 227 ; Al 
fred G., 195 ; Alvira, 259 ; Ameri 
cas, 227, 277 ; B., 185 ; Benajah, 227 
259, 277 ; Betty, 247, 272 ; Betty C. 

276 ; Catharine, 225, 248, 272, 276 
"■"X^ Deborah, 250, 269, 271, 276 ; E., 185 

^Ebenezer, 74-76, 85, 91, 96, 116, 125 
228, 248, 268, 270, 271, 277, 2S6 ; Ed 
mund, 166, 250 ; Elizabeth, 248, 268 

277 ; Esther, 271 ; Fannie M., 262 
Fanny, 248, 269, 276 ; George, 61 
182, 227 ; Hannah, 247, 248, 276 
Hannah M., 226, 236, 268 ; Henry 
172, 179, 180, iSi, 183, 185, 1S6, 191 
192, 212, 214, 226, 261, 262, 276 
Jacob, 182, 184, 186, 198, 227, 26r 
277 ; Joel, 65, 76, loS, III, 113, I id 
117, 121, 125, 126, 128, 130, 131, 133 
137, 138, 142, 148, 155, 156,159,212 
215, 225, 247, 269, 270, 272, 289,290, 
292 ; John, 276 ; John A., 65, 76 
142, 186, 192, 201, 223, 262 ; Joseph 
76, 85, loi, 116-118, 122, 126, 128 
132, 133, 159, 166, 248, 250, 26S, 269- 
271, 276; Laura S., 259; Leonard 
65, 142, 147, 155, 157, 171, 172, 192 
247, 267, 269, 272, 276 ; Louisa, 267 
Lucinda, 24S ; Lucy, 248, 250, 260, 
272 ; Lyman V., 227 ; Margette, 248 
Maria, 260 ; Mary, 76, 270, 271 ; Ma 
ry Ann, 261 ; Owen A., 227 ; Polly 
276 ; Rebecca, 272, 276 ; Rhoda, 276 
S., 185 ; Sarah, 76, 94, 247, 248, 270, 
271, 276; Silas, 76, 1 66, 248, 250, 260 
270, 276; Sophy, 276; Sybil, 276 
Thomas, 187 ; Thomas H., 18-;, 185! 
1S7, 227 ; Walter, 183 ; William 
272 ; William R., 262 ; Willis H. 
263. 

Paris, 143. 

Paris, Treaty of, 98. 

Parker, 71 ; Abraham, 9, 26, 28 ; Asa, 
142; Benjamin, 165; Caleb, 56; 
Charles, 171 ; Clark, 162, 171, 176, 
1S5, 254, 269 ; Deliverance, 78 ; El- 
eazer, 35; Emerson, 172, 254, 270; 
Eunice, 254 ; George, 269 ; James, 
9, 10, 22, 26, 27, III; Jane, 175; 
Jonas, 172 ; Jonathan, 227 ; Josejjh, 
9; Levi, 153, 162; Libni, 171, 188, 
196, 198, 200, 201, 227 ; L. Herman, 
199, 2or, 227 ; Lucy, 254 ; Luther S., 
194; Nathaniel, 04; Rebecca, 254, 



270 ; Samuel, 123, 132 ; Sumner, 

182 ; Tamar, 254, 269 ; Thomas, i8r, 

1S4, 215, 227. 
Parris, Robert, 9, 17, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, 

37, 38, III, 212, 287. 
Parris, Sami^el, 38, 294. 
Partridgefield, Mass., 147. 
Parts of Groton set off to Dunstable, 

155- 
Passaconnaway, 18-21. 
Patatucke, Jacob, 7. 
Patriotism of the people, 107. 
Paugus, 40, 44, 46, 47, 49, 54, 76. 
Pavvtucket Indians, 17, 18, 19; Falls, 

20, 21, 29, 161. 
Payments to soldiers, 127-129. 
Peace declared, 143. 
Pearl, Gilman, 194. 
Pearson, Capt., 35, 36. 
Peckins, John, 167. 
Pelham, Mass., 147; N. H., 11, 282. 
Pembroke, N. H., 50, 179. 
Penhallow, Samuel, 41, 44. 
Pennacook, 20, 24, 50 ; Indians, 15, 17, 

18, 21, 22. 
Pennichuck Brook, 7. 
Pentucket, 6, 19. 
People received from Groton, 153, 

155- 

Peppcrell, Mass., 11, 41, 59, 60, 67, 68, 
79>87i95; i04i '25, 156, 182, 199,282. 

Pepperell, William, 79. 

Pequawkeit, 34, 44, 45, 50, 51, 76, 78, 
215, 287, 2S8 ; Indians, 47, 50. 

Perambulation of parish lines, lOO. 

Percival, J. G., 130. 

Percy, Lord, 112. 

Perham, 142; Allen, 171 ; David, 171 ; 
Elijah, 151 ; Elizabeth, 274; James, 
loi, 122, 129; John, loi, 106, T16,'' 
-j- 118, 126, 132, 149, 152; Jonathan, 
loi, 151 ; Joseph, 106; Josiah, 274; 
Lemuel, 102, 103, 105, 112, 113, 118, 
126, 128, 132, 137, 274; Mary, 274; 
Peter, 146, 151 ; Rachel, 274 ; Ralph, 
171; Rebecca, 274; Silas, 274; Su- 
san, 77 ; William, 129, 152. 

Perkins, Jeremiah, 227. 

Perry, Obadiah, 17, 23, 28, 31 ; Joseph, 

Petersham, Mass., 147, 148. 

Petition for incorporation, 9 ; for scouts, 

30- 
Pettingell, Capt., 125. 
Pevey, Lyman E., 194. 
Pew ground drawn, 96. 
Pews, sale of, 99. 
Philadelphia, 127. 
Philbrook, 209. 
I'hysicians, 215. 



INDEX. 



311 



Philip, ig, 22, 24, 31, 32, 68. 

Pierce, Allen, 172; Joseph, 171, 172. 

Pierpont, J., 38, 278, 294. 

Pike, 219; Benjamin, 99, 105, 116-118, 
126, 128, 228, 231; Isaac, 152, 171, 
231 ; James, 125, 129; John, 36; 
Joseph, 85, 90, 94, 105, 229 ; Lydia, 
231 ; Mary, 231 ; Rachel, 228. 

Pitch pipe, 103. 

Pitman, Venus, 17S, 254. 

Pitts, John, 89, 107, 144, 160, 212. 

Pittsfield, Mass., 147, 181. 

Plainfield, 42. 

Plan of Dunstable, 156. 

Pledge to defend the country, 112. 

Plummer, John K., 227. 

Plymouth, Mass., 5, 93. 

Poem by Mrs. Rockwell, 205, 210. 

Pokanoket, 22. 

Pollard, 55 ; Solomon, 146. 

Pool, Leonard H.,.194. 

Poolesville, Md., 263. 

Pope, Alexander, 150. 

Population, 103, 172, 177, 180, 188, 198, 
285. 

Port Hudson, 193, 195 ; Royal, 38. 

Post-office established, 176. 

Potter, C. E., 44, 45. 

Powder-horns, curious, 98. 

Powell, Jeremiah, 135. 

Powers, Alice, 270 ; Elizabeth, 146 ; 
Peter, 43, 215, 216. 

Pratt, Anna L., 254 ; Eliza, 254 ; Jerah- 
meel, 158, 159; John, 162, 164; Ma- 
ria, 254 ; Mary, 254 ; Martha, 254 ; 
Nancy, 254; Phineas, 7, 2S2 ; Re- 
becca, 254; Sarah A., 254 ; Stephen, 
172, 254; Thomas, 254; William 
W., 254. 

Preaching in a private house, 80. 

Preface, 3. 

Prentice, N., 15, 39, 57, 233; William 
H., 99, loi, 106, 294, 296. 

Preparation of pitch and turpentine, 56. 

Presby, Clarissa, 225 ; Rebecca, 235. 

Prescott, 218 ; Avery, 172 ; Charles A., 
227 ; William, 114. 

Proctor, 71 ; Abigail, 274 ; Arhos, 240, 
269, 275; Betty, 240; C. W., 258 ; 
Catharine, 273 ; Clarissa E., 178 ; 
Dexter P., 17S, 197, 275 ; Ebcnezer, 
56, 75, 77, 84, 96, 137, 153, 160, 177, 
184, 239, 240, 273, 275; Elizabeth, 
240, 268, 275 ; Emily C., 178 ; Gen- 
eral, 165 ; Gershom, 8, 116, liS, 126, 
128, 160, 166, 240, 269, 274, 275; 
Henry O., 178, 275 ; James, 159, 162 ; 
Jasper P., 70, 177, 178, 182, 185, 197, 
259, 270, 275, 276; John, 116, ii8, 
125, 12G, 128, 140, 162,240,274,275; 



Jonathan, 118, 122, 144, 154, 157, 177, 
227, 25S, 275, 276 ; Josiaii C, 2, 17S, 
201-203, 227, 275, 278, 279; Mary, 
197, 239, 240, 259, 275 ; Mary A., 178, 
258, 259, 270, 275 ; Mary B., 259 ; 
Molly, 273 ; Nathan, 159, 162, 164; 
Peter, 159, 160, 175 ; Polly, 275 ; 
Rebecca, 177, 184, 276 ; Rhoda, 275 ; 
Robert, 9, 17; Sarah, 140,239,240, 
273, 274 ; Warren W., 25S ; William, 
275; Zephaniah P., 173, 182, 185, 
186, 227, 258. 

Proposal of Mrs. Winslow, 151. 

Prosperity of the people, r6i, 167. 

Protest of R. Blood and others, 105. 

Pulpit built, 104 ; supplied by C. Rock- 
well, 198 ; D. Goodsell, iSo ; Mr. 
Austin, 19S ; W. K. Talbot, 176. 

Putney, Vt., iio. 



Q 

Quebec, 140. 

Queen Anne's War, 33. 



R 



Raby, N. H., 57. 

Raddin, Augusta A., 264 ; Hannah C, 
264 ; Isabel, 264 ; John, 264 ; Mar- 
tha, 264 ; Rebecca, 264 ; Samuel, 264. 

Raising the meeting-house, 86. 

Rale, Sebastian, 40. 

Ralston, Thomas, 176. 

Ranpuck, Harold A., 194. 

Rawson, Edward, 10. 

Raymond, Eri D., 197 ; Liberty C, 184, 

185, 187, 
"Read, 80, 81 ; Abijah, 159; Anne E., 
236 ; Betsy, 231, 236, 274, 277 ; 
Caleb, 158, 171, 215, 236, 274, 277; 
Calvin, 236, 277 ; Catharine, 236, 
274; Caty, 236; Christopher, 17, 
30, 32 ; C. E., 203, 205 ; Eleazer, 
116, 118, 126, 128, 129, 231, 236, 274 ; 
Isaac, 274 ; Jacob, loi ; James, 171, 
231,277; Leonard, 231, 274; Mark, 
236; Martha, 231; Mary, 229; 
Rachel, 236, 274, 277 ; Rebecca, 231, 
274 ; Rhoda, 274 ; Sarah, 236, 277; 
Susannah, 274 ; Sybil, 229, 274 ; 
Timothy, 57, S3, 85, 94, 97, u 7-1 19, 
125, 126, 12S, 131, 137, 138, 229- 
231, 26S, 274, 290; Thomas, 171 ; 
William, 274. 

Reading, Mass., 38, 78, 85. 

Redfield, Isaac F., 218. 

Red Lion Inn, 12. 



/ 



312 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Remington, Jesse, 14S, 149. 

Removal of meeting-house, 1 54. 

Re])resentatives to General Court, 212. 

Revival of religion, 169. 

Revolution, impending, 107. 

Rhode Island, 6, 122, 123, 126, 127, 132, 
2S5. 

Rice, Benjamin P., 183, 

Rich, Everett, 194. 

Richardson, Abiel, 86, 87 ; Abigail, 
243 ; Daniel, 176, 186, 227, 262 ; 
Frances E., 262 ; Lucy A., 262 ; Ma- 
ry, III ; Oliver, 225; Rachel, 262; 
Thomas. 44, 172, 243 ; Timothy, 44; 
William M., 220; William B., 297 ; 
Z;ichariah, 159. 

Rideaut, ])avid, 184, 227 ; David F., 
182, 184, 19S, 227. 

Robbins, 82 ; Albert, 27, 277 ; Benja- 
min, 83, 85, 94, 266 ; Betsy, 166, 
269, 272 ; Cynthia, 266 ; Damaris P., 
277 ; Desire, 277 ; Desire P., 277 ; 
Dorothy, 269; Elijah, 116, 118, 126, 
128, 132, 133, 153, 159, 270, 272, 277 ; 
Elizabeth, 94, 266 ; Emeline, 270 ; 
Emerson, 277 ; Freeman L., 183, 184, 
188, 196, 198, 199, 227 ; Henry, 272, 
277 ; Jefferson, 183 ; Jonathan, 42, 
44. 47-49. 53. 74, 75, 78. 288 ; Jo- 
tham, 182, 184, 227, 272 ; Earned, 
277 ; Lucy, 272 ; Lucy A., 226 ; Ma- 
ry, 272 ; Micha E., 265 ; Moody, 
171 ; Farlin, 172, 227 ; Rebecca, 277 ; 
Rhoda, 272 ; Sarah A., 265 ; Wil- 
lard, 162, 184, 270, 272 ; William, 171. 

Robertson, William, 194. 

Robinson, Archibald, loi ; John, 194. 

Roby, Catharine, 180 ; Charles, 273 ; 
Christo;)her, 203, 215 ; Dexter, 201 ; 
Elizabeth, 269, 273 ; Oilman, 173, 
176, 182, 227 ; John S., 273 ; Joseph 
W., 162, 172, 273 ; Ralph, 273 ; Reu- 
el, 273; Samuel, 75, 78, 112, 151, 
162, 172, 268, 269, 273 ; William, 171. 

Roby Hill, 67. 

Rochester, N. Y., 178. 

Rockwell, Charles, 198, 227 ; Mrs. 
Charles, 202, 205, 210. 

Roll of Capt. O. Cummings's company, 
116, 125; Capt. Josiah's company, 

158. 
Rosewell, Henry, 5. 
Ross, Sarah, 49. 
Rovve, William, 178. 
Rowley, Mass., 35. 
Roxbury, Mass., 27, 127, 129, 296. 
Rumford, N. H., 56, 282. 
Rusmussen C, 194. 
Russell, James, 177, 
Rutland, Mass., 50. 



Ryswick, treaty of, 33. 
Ryder, James IL, 227 ; Sanford U., 
227. 



s 



Sabbath school established, 170. 

Saco, Me., 48. 

Saco River, 44, 46, 2S8. 

Sackett's Harbor, 165. 

Sacramento, Cal., 262. 

Saddle Hill, 147. 

Sale of a negro, 91. 

Salem, Mass., 5, 175 ; witchcraft, 38. 

Salisbury, 217. 

Salmon Brook, 7, 16, 27, 36, 50, 57, 61- 

65, 67, 76, 80, Si, 103, 121, 123, 142, 

160, 176, 184, 185, 18S, 199, 216, 220, 

287. 
Salmon Falls River, 43. 
Samson, 221. 
Sanderson, Isaac J., 171, 172; E. P., 

185 ; I. P., 185. 
Sandisfield, Mass., 147. 
Sargent, F. D., 266. 
Sartle, S., 116, 125, 129. 
Saugus, Mass., 264. 
Savage, Hannah, 33. 
Sawyer, Mary A., 196. 
Scarlet, Samufel, 7, 9, 106, 282. 
School books, 82. 
School-house first mentioned, no. 
Scott, Benjamin, 74, 75 ; Charles, 249 ; 

John, loi ; Lemuel, 1 18 ; Mary, 249 ; 

Noyes R., 182 ; Robert, 75, 77, loi ; 

Samuel, 249 ; William, 75. 
Scouting for the Indians, 41. 
Scribner, .Matthew, 212. 
Searles, Charles W., 227 ; Samuel, 33. 
Sermon of Mr. Emerson, 79. 
Seating the meeting-house, 99, 104. 
Seven Star Brook, 61 ; Meadow, in. 
Sewall's Brook, 62, 63, 70. 
Shays, Daniel, 146, 147 ; Patrick, 147 ; 

Rebellion, 146. 
Shattuck, Atnaziah, 172 ; Reuben, 172. 
Sheaf e, Sampson, 9, 12. 
Shepley, John, 35. 
Sherwin, Ebenezer, 86, 87, 90, 92, 94, 

96-98, 215; Jonathan, 112. 
Sheppard, Henry, 112 ; William, 147. 
Shirley, Mass., 103, 170 ; William, 90. 
Short,' William, 194. 
Sigourney, L. H., 212. 
Silly, John, 122. 
Simmons, William, 1S3. 
Simonds, Elizabeth, 253. 
Singing school, 158, 179. 
.Skinner, Richanl, 218 ; Robin, 129. 
Skccncbborough, 120. 



INDEX. 



313 



^'latestone Hill, 60, 6S, 70. 
SIee|)er, Jonathan F., 152. 
Small, Aaron, 152. 

Smith, 148; Abijah, 172; Benjamin, 235; 
Joannah, 235 ; M.,205; Samuel, 152. 
Snow, Salmon, 171. 
Social library formed, 159. 
Soil of Dunstable, iSi. 
Soldiers in French war, 9S ; in late war, 

192-195. 
Sollendine, John, 17, 27, 28, 37. 
Song by Amos Kendall, 223 ; Mrs. 

Whitcomb, 204. 
Souhegan River, 6, 9, 14, 17, 95. 
South Merrimac, N. H., 176. 
Sjx^rta, N. Y., 147. 

Spauldinu, 183, 1S5 ; A., 186; Abel, 
113, 116, 117, 123, 125, 128, 162, 171, 
173, 25S, 270, 273 ; Agnes, 273; Amos, 
235 ; Andrew, 182, 187-189 ; Hena- 
jah, 273 ; E. G., 184 ; Ebenezer, 34 ; 
Elizabeth K., 258 ; Hiram, 182, 1S9, 
227 ; James, 182, 188 ; Joel, 152, 273 ; 
John, 34, 76, 83, 169, 170, 172, 180, 
224, 258 ; Jonas, 201, 227 ; Joseph, 
83. 85. 97, 116, 118, 125, 128, 273; 
Jusiah, 259 ; Lydia, 23s, 270, 273 ; 
Mary, 259 ; Miles, 182, 216; O. C. B., 
25S ; Khoda, 273 ; ."-amuel, 172 ; 
Samuel T., 227 ; Samuel S., 189; 
Sarah, 273; Simeon, 116, 124; 
Squire, 273 ; Sulaiia, 235 ; Susan- 
nah, 273 ; Sybil, 273 ; Tauiar, 273 ; 
Zacc!".eus, 10 r. 
Spectacle Brook, 8 ; Hill, 68. 
S]Jencer, Mass., 147. 
Spit or Cutler's Brook, 215. 
Spooney, Edward, 45. 
Sprague, Charles, 14 ; Phineas, 134. 
Spring Brook, 61. 
Springfield, .Mass., 147. 
Stark, John, 289. 
St. Francis, 25. 

Starr, Ebenezer, 126, 128, 131, 148, 215, 
^l^-~Z:S^ 268, 274; Edward, 274; 
Hannan, 233, 274 ; James H., 274 ; 
John, 274 ; Rebecca, 231, 233, 274. 
Stale Constitution, 130, 135. 
Statement of Mr. Heywood, 163. 
Stearns, Isaac, 125, 
Stebbins, Kufus I'., 26. 
Stedman, Betsy, 265 ; Ebenezer, 162, 

227, 2 S2, 265, 
Steel, Jane, 229 ; John, 75, 77, 87, 90, 

91, 96-99, lOI, 22), 268, 286. 
Stevens, Betsy, 231 ; Jeptha, 158-160, 
215 ; Josiah, 158, 159, 231 ; Kimball 
A., 195; Parker, 159; Samuel, 159, 
215, 237, 269; Simeon, 125, 158; 
Tabitha, 237, 269. 



Stickney, Dea., 85 ; Henry, 195 ; Jon- 
athan, 124. 

Stillwater, N. Y., 127. 

Stocks, pound, and whipping-post, 104. 

Stone, Ueacon, 85 ; Abigail, 21S ; Eve- 
line, 245 ; Samuel S., 245 ; Samuel 
W., 245. 

Stoneham, Mass , 103. 

Story, Arthur B , 227 ; Solomon, 227. 

Streeter, Russell, 172, 190 ; Sebastian, 
172. 

Strickland, John, 137, 13S. 

Strong, Caleb, 215. 

Stuart, Charles, i^t^. 

Sturtevant, Asaph C, 227. 

Styles, John, 195. 

Sudbury, Mass., 147. 

Sumner, Me., 138. 

Sunco'k, N. H , 50. 

Sunderland, Dr., 221. 

Superstitions, 134. 

Swallow, 71, 80, 81, 183, 1S5 ; A., 184 ; 
A. N , 201 ; Abigail, 273 ; Abigail 
G., 261 ; Abijah, 269, 276; Abra- 
ham, 158, 160, 215, 272, 275 ; A. O., 
259 ; Albert J., 258 ; Alice, 277 ; Al- 
plK-us, 72, 97, 183, 185, 2 r4, 227,235; 
Alvira, 262 ; Amaziah, 108, 116, 117, 
125, 126, 128, 153, 162, 187, 268, 215, 
225,230, 231, 252, 25S, 259; Anna, 
275 ; Archelaus, 162, 273, 276; Asa, 
160, 166, 225, 252, 272, 277 ; Ase- 
nath, 258, 259; Benjamin, 116, 118, 
125, 128, 157, 269, 273 ; Bera, 277 ; 
Calvin, 275 ; Charlotte, 261 ; Cla- 
rinda, 277 ; Charles R., 195, 261 ; 
Daniel, 61, 182-184, --1 ; David, 162, 
273; Deborah, 231, 272; E., 186; 
Elizabeth, 146, 230, 272 ; J. M., 184, 
188, 20t, 227 ; James, 160, 176, 262, 
273, 276 ; Jemima, 277 ; Joanna, 269, 
273 ; John, 18, 83, 85, 94-98, 101, 
103, 104, 185, 227, 235, 261 ; John 
W , 277 ; Jonathan, 95, 164, 269, 
277 ; Joseph, 179, 188, 215 ; Ken- 
dall, 162, 231, 263, 272, 277 ; Lar- 
n.ird,273, 276 ; Laura, 277; Lucinda, 
277 ; 1 ucy, 273, 276 ; Luther, 275 ; 
Maria, 225, 277 ; iViary, 231, 252, 272, 

275 ; Moody, 273, 276 ; Naluim, 275 ; 
O, 259; Peter, 116, 118, 126, 128, 
166, 183, 273, 275; Prudence, 273, 275, 

276 ; Rebecca, 231, 269, 272 ; Rhoda, 
275 ; Ruel, 277 ; Ruth, 272 ; Sam- 
son, 159 ; Sarah, 94, 95, 268, 273, 275, 
276, 277 ; Sopiiroma, 266, 277 ; .Su- 
.sannah, 225, 252, 277 ; Sybil, 262, 
273, 276. 

Swan, Benjamin, 29 ; Josiah, 57, 74, 
Synunes, Tliomas, 44, 47, 48, 31. 



314 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Talbot, William K., 176. 

Tarbox, James, 117, 129; Noah, 75. 

Taunton, N. J., 22 [. 

Tax-payers in 1744, 76. 

Taylor, 35 ; Abigail, 231, 243, 247, 
273 ; Abraham, S, 56, 75, 77-79, 118, 
215 ; Alpheiis, 245 ; Amos, 125 ; Hen- 
jamin, i iS ; Betsy, 247 ; Bridget, 243, 
27 5 ; Caroline M., 242 ; Catharine, 
272 ; Cyrus, 159, 162, 243, 273 ; Cy- 
rus W., 242 ; Danforth, 273 ; Daniel, 
159 ; David, 74, 75, 77, 84, 85, 96, 97, 
117, 118, 126, 12S, 153, 230, 268, 269, 
272 ; Deborah, 249, 276 ; Eilee, 23 1, 
274; Klizabeth, 241, 274 ; Elliot ()., 
227 ; Emma, 226 ; Ephraim, 142 ; 
F., 263 ; Frederic, 277 ; George E., 
195, 2-8 ; Hannah, 94, 225, 230, 244, 
263, 26S, 272, 277 ; Harriet P., 242 ; 
Isaac, 116, 118, 125, 12S, 156, 159, 
160, 162, 165 166, 170, 175,215,237, 
249, 271, 276 ; Isaac O., 202, 203, 214, 

272 ; Jacob, 231, 273 ; James, 77, 
126, 159, 162, 165, 172, 215, 231, 247, 
269. 273 ; J. O., 173 ; Jefferson, 172, 
277 ; John, 8, 49, 286; Jonas, 116, 
117, 125, 128, 129, 146, 159, 166, 172, 
225, 244, 271, 273, 277 ; Jonathan, 
56. 11, 75. 11 ; Joseph, 75, 94, 97 ; 
Josiah, 159, 243, 273; Lucy, 271, 
276; Luther, 274 ; Lydia. 259,276; 
Mary, 166, 244, 271, 273 ; Mary Ann, 
242 ; Matilda J., 242 ; M. M., 242 ; 
Nathan, 14 ; Olive, 94, 139, 272 ; 
Oliver, 102, 116, 118, 125, 128, 137, 
13S, 156, 159, 227, 242, 243, 270, 271, 

273 ; Polly, 237 ; R. B., 243 ; Rachel, 
22S, 249, 258, 271; Rebecca, 243, 

273 ; Reuben, 271 ; Rhoda, 225, 243, 

274 ; Rhoda B., 243 ; Roxana, 225, 
277 ; Ruth, 231, 274 ; Sally, 139, 166, 
217; Samuel, 56, 75, 77,85,87, 91, 
94, 96, 98, 103, 104, 109, 116, 1 18, 
122, 12=;, 128, 157, 162, 215, 225, 226, 
244, 26S, 27r, 274; Samuel S., 186, 
19S, 227, 258 ; Sarah, 249, 272, 276 ; 
Sarah M., 242 ; Susannah, 94, 215, 
243, 244, 268, 271, 273 ; Sybil, 272 ; 
Thaddeus, 271 ; Timothy, 75 ; Wil- 
liam, 176, 231, 273, 274 ; William 
R , 243, 273. 

Teachers, 131, 142, 143, 146, 152. 

Teagreen, John N., 195. 

Temple, C., 17, 31. 

Tenney, 134 ; Ellen L., 262 ; Esther 

W., 262, 263; Jonathan, 116, 125; 

Oliver, 125 ; Mary A., 262 ; .\hiry 



L., 262 ; Parrot, 117, 126, 129; Wil- 
liam W., 262, 263. 

Tewksbury, Mass., 6, 99. 

Thayer, T. B., 172. 

Thomas, a servant, 102 ; Dr., 217. 

Thompson, Asa, lOi, 151 ; Ezra, lot, 
142, 145, 149, 151 : Hiildah, 154; 
Nathan, loi, 151 ; Silas, lor ; Si- 
mon, 74, 83, 84, 90, 97, 100, loi, 154, 
171. 

Thorndike, Olive, 267, 269 ; Paul, 162, 
1S6, 267, 269. 

Thornton's Ferry, 6, 41. 

Thunder storm, 102. 

Ticonderoga, 120, 126, 127, 138. 

Tituba, a servant, 38. 

Toby, a Mohawk, 44, 45. 

Tolles, Henry f., 197, 19S, 227. 

Tolman, Elizabeth D., 275 ; Lucy D., 
275; Samuel H, i7r, 174-176, 217, 
224, 245, 270, 275 ; Rachel, 224, 245, 
275. 

Tombs built, 173. 

Topography of the town, 59. 

Tories, 123. 

Townsend, Mass., 11, 55, 95, 2S2. 

Tr.isk, William B., 2. 

Trebizond, 196. 

Trowbridge, Thomas, 112. 

Tucker, Joseph, 65 

'J'ullv, Henry L., 227. 

Tunbridge, Vt., 225. 

Turkey Hills, 50. 

Turner, John, 9 

Turrell, Peter, 171, 159, 179. 

Tuule, Charles, 227, 257 ; Hannah, 
257. 

Tyng, Edward, 12, 17, 23, 33, 231, 282, 
283, 293, 296, 297 ; Colonel, 82, 85, 
284 ; Eleazer, 49, 50, 73-76, 84, 90, 
99, 100, loi, no, 214, 216, 232, 296; 
Elizabeth, 8 ; Eunice, 296 ; Hannah, 
293,296,297; James, loi, no, in, 
n3, 289 ; John, 34, 02, 63, 80-82, 90, 
98, too, 101, 107, 108, ni, n3, 130, 
133' '35' '42' '5'. 212, 216, 289, 292, 
296 ; John A., 87, 99, 101, 232 ; Jon- 
athan, 9, 10, 12, 17, 22-26, 28, 30-34, 
37, 30, 43, 6S, 70, 75, 87, 90, 120, 142 
212,214, 216, 2S7, 293, 296; Mary, 
12, 23, 2S, 39, 107, 282, 296 ; Rebecca, 
296; Sarah, 28, 216, 232; William, 
8, 28, 33, 34' 35' 2t4. 
Tyngsborough, Mass, n, 15, 23, 27, 
28, 35' 3<5' 58' 59. 61-63, 69, 74, 76, 
86,89,99, 104, 107, wi„ 129, 143, 152, 
153. 154-15^ '6 1, 167, 177' 2S2. 
Tvng's Corner, 96. 
'i'yng's Cove, 64. 
Tyringham, .Mass., 147. 



INDEX. 



315 



u 



Underwood, Asa, 152. 
Universalist preacliers, 172, 190 ; So- 
ciety, 171. 
Unqiietynasset, 60, 66, S2, 100, 155, 

226. 
Unqiietynasset Brook, 62, 64, 68, 70, 

137. i53-i^6, 180. 
Upham, r. C, 40, 54. 
Upton, Jeremiah, 171 ; Kimball, 1S2, 

1S6 ; Josepli, 151, 154, 159; Peter 

K., 227. 
Usher, Hezekiah, 23, 41, 48, 2S3, 296 ; 

John, 41 ; Robert, 17, 33, 44, 47, 49; 

Sarah, 23, 75. 
Utrecht, 38. 



V 

Varnum, 30 ; Tohn, loi ; Joseph, 39 ; 

Joseph B., 160, 165 ; Thomas, 39. 
Vaudreuil, Marquis de, 40. 
Verplanck, G. C, 5. 
Viali, John, 75. 

Victory of Yorktown, Va., 13S. 
Visit to scene of Lovewell's fight, 49.J 
VoUuiteers to late war, 189. 
Voters in 1873, 226-227. 



Wachusett Mt., 68, 86. 

Wakefield, N. H., 43. 

Waldo, Cornelius, 28, 2r2 ; Daniel, 17 ; 

John, 17, 212., 
Waldron, Richard, 29, 287. 
Walker, John, 122 ; William, 283. 
Wall Mill, 68, 70, 199. 
Wallace, Levi, 99, 209. 
Walling, H. F, 184. 
Waltham, Mass., 187. 
Walton, Harriet P., 257 ; Lowell, 186, 

257 ; Mary E., 257. 
Wamesit, 7, U, 20-23, 25 ; Indians, 17, 

20, 22. 
Wannalancet, 20-23, 3'- 
Ward, Artemiis, 135. 
WardweH, Mary, 107. 
Warner, Samuel, 17. 
Warrant of Oliver Cnmmings, 121, 123; 

of S. Spaulding, 124. 
Warren, Henry V., 182. 
Washburn, W. B., 198, 203, 208. 
Washington, IX C, 221, 297; George, 

121, 137, 138. 
Watanauock, 60. 



Watatick Aft., 68. 

Water suj^ply, 60. 

Watertown, Mass., 194, 289. 

Watson, Abraham, 125; Horace H., 

165 
Watts, Isaac, 145, 15^, 175, 229. 
Webb, 21, 183. 
Webster, Daniel, i. 
Weights and measures, 160 
Weld, Elizabeth, 32, 233 ; Habijah S., 

33,216; Hannah S., 12,; Thomas, 

12, 17, 27, 28, 33, 38, 216, 233, 283, 

293- 296, 297. 
Weld's Brook, 27, 61. 
Welch, Patrick, 195. 
Wells, William, 1 10. 
Welsh, Richard, 122. 
Wentworth, T., 183. 
Western, Mass., 147. 
Westerly, R- I., 216, 258. 
Westfor'd, Mass , 6, 83, 156, 216, 254. 
Westminster, Mass., 110, 196. 
Weston, 44, 47, 53, I 17, '^'i>'i \ Charles 

E., 1S2, 227 ; J E.. 184 
Wetherbee, Benj., 164. 
What a New England town is, 280. 
Wheeler, Joseph, 7, 9, 17, 27, 11 1, 280; 

Tlinmas, i6, 25, ill, 2S2. 
Whitcomb, Lowell, 185, 227 ; Maria 

A., 202, 204. 
White, H. K., 228. 
White, Lucius, 195. 
White Plains, 129, 138. 
Whiting, 143 ; Samuel, 17, 30, 32, 33, 

35' 37, 3«. 44, 46; William, 172. 
Whitney, 57 ; Isaac, 45 ; Israel, 72 ; 

James, 75, 171; John, 187, 2S2 ; 

Jonas, 125 ; Zachariah, 45. 
Whittier, J. G.. 20. 
Whittemore, Deborah, 268; Thomas, 

172, 190. 
Wicasuck Falls, 25; Island, 11, 21- 

25, 31, 129 
Wild animals, 83. 
Wilkins, Daniel, 95 ; Jonathan, 145, 

146 ; Luther, 195 ; Luther E., 195. 
Willard, 296; Eunice, 296; Josiah, 

232 ; Simon, 6, 9, 16, 22. 
Williams, Andrew, 264 ; Ebenezer, 159; 

Frances A., 264. 
Williston, D. IL, 225. 
Wilmington, Mass., 224. 
Willoughby, Oliver, 162. 
Wilson, ISenjamin, 171 ; Elizabeth, 27, 

297; Henry, 183; John, 27, 228, 281, 

297 ; Sarah, 27 ; Warren, 181, 183. 
Winn, 55 ; Joseph, loi 
Winchester, 232. 
Windham, Vt., no. 
Winnipisiogee Pond, 43. 



3i6 



HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. 



Winslow, John, 232 ; Mary, 148, 150, 
152, 232. 

Winthrop, John, t8. 

Woburn, Mass., 6, 26, 31, 42, 44, 47, 
55, 76, 288. 

Wolfe, James, g8. 

Wood supplied to Mr. Goodhue, loi. 

Woodbury, Jo.^iah, 268. 

Woods, /i ; Abigail, 239, 277 ; Albert 
C, 263; Amos, 153, 159; Asa, 159, 
162, 172, 1S5, 254, 264 ; Asa E , 265 ; 
Betty, 238, 239, 265 ; Caleb, 153, 159, 
23S, 239, 269, 270, 277 ; Charles J., 
242 ; Charlotte, 265 ; Cummings, 

264 ; Daniel, 44, 47, 49 ; Deborah, 
277 ; Eliza, 197 ; Eunice, 269; George, 
183, 269; George W., 197; Hannah, 
239, 277; Hannah F., 238; Henry, 
162, 164, 242, 277 ; Henry F., 239, 
269; Isaac, 158, 162, 184, 197,265, 
269 ; Isaac N., 182, 185, 227 ; Jeptha, 
277 ; |erii>ha, 242; John, 160; Jonas, 
159, 269; Louisa, 265 ; Maria, 277 ; 
Mary, 225 ; Mary A., 242 ; Mary D., 

265 ; Matilda, 277 ; Nathaniel, 45 ; 
Koah, 159, 164, 172,239; Paul, 142; 
Polly, 264 ; Rebecca, 239, 277 ; Sam- 
uel, 182 ; Sumner, 185, 227 ; Thomas, 
44, 47, 49 ; Varnum, 184, 265 ; Wil- 
liam, 162, 2()5 ; William H., 183. 

Woodward, 71"; Abel, 231 ; Andrew 
] , 203, 227, 251 ; Andrew S., 250 ; 
Benjamin, 104, 108, I17, 118, 126, 
129, 132, 133, 231 ; Catharine, 231 ; 
Charles N., 182, 185, 227 ; Esther, 



249; Eunice, 231; Harvy, 216; 
l^-aac, 173 ; James, 61, 77, 185, 227 ; 
Tames C, 182, 185, 189, 196, 227; 
John, 74-7S, 80, Si, S4, 98, 165, 171, 
249-251, 26iS, 274 ; Jonathan, 64, 65, i' 

I 98, 112, 116, 118, 125, 129, 132, 141, 
144, 159, 164, 171, 180, 267, 274; 
Mrs. Jonathan, 113, 180; Jonathan 
H., 1S2, 227; Mary, 249; Mary 1*., 
250; Molly, 274; Patty, 274 ; Polly, 
250; Kaciiel, 231 ; Rebecca, 250, 
251 ; Sally, 250, 267 ; Sarah, 267, 
274; Theodore, 172; Thomas, 98; 
Timothv, 159, 274. 

Woofolk,'Mary B., 221. 

Worcester, Mass., 147, 181 ; Samuel, 
175 ; Samuel T., 10. 

Wright, A. R, 260; Elizabeth, 179; 
Emma A. P., 260 ; George, 162, 173, 
176, 179, 1S2, 186, 269; George P., 
84. 198, 227 ; Harrietta A., :6o ; 
Isaac, 114, 116, 125, 129, 159, 160, 
212 ; Isaac N , 183, 1S4, 260 ; John, 
1 59 ; Joseph, 28 ; Joshua, 98 ; Jo- 
siah, 125 ; Levi, 171 ; Levi P., 214; 
Luther, 168; Newton, 184; Oliver, 
225; P., 137; Phineas, 138; Reu- 
ben, 185 ; Sally, 139; William T., 179. 

Wyman, Seth, 44, 46-49, 54. 



Yorktown, Va., 137. 
Young, Wallace N., 227. 



i 



